


In The Name of Love

by eshcaine



Series: Drink the Sea Records [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 1980s, 80's Music, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Supernatural, Billy Idol Music, Demonic Possession, Fluff, M/M, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Thompson Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 12:06:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eshcaine/pseuds/eshcaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Supernatural High School AU) It’s 1982 and Dean Winchester is in trouble at school. The Principle figures the best way to sort him out is to get him involved in the school’s Christmas play. But is there something dark and sinister lurking around the school’s auditorium?</p><p>[Many many many kudos and thank yous to Christina (http://angelbladesandholyfire.tumblr.com/) for all her support and encouragement!!!]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “Hey you,  
> I’ve seen your face before  
> It’s you in the picture which hangs on my bedroom wall  
> Is it true? All of those things that they say about you  
> So tell me, tell me, tell me what am I supposed to do
> 
> In the name of love, yeah  
> In the name of love….”  
> The Thompson Twins, 1982

It was 1982. Beverly Stevens had been, officially, the principle of Brant High School for exactly two years and two months so far. And the 17 year old boy sitting on the other side of her desk in her office was nothing she hadn’t already seen before. Cocky brash boys used to getting the full spectrum of attention wherever they went. This one had darker honey colored hair, a dangerous smile and these startlingly green eyes that she knew were going to bring her female population to their knees. His manner of dress didn’t help either with his Billy Idol spiked hair, the torn jeans with chains flapping from his leather skull studded belt, the “never mind the bollox, here’s the sex pistols” tank top, the leather jacket that looked older than he was and the dark black kohl smudged around his eyes. He was sitting back in his chair, thrumming his thumbs against its arm rests and scowling hard at her.

The school’s baseball coach had caught this upstanding member of society mooning the members of Latin Club through a window and brought him to her. She had sat him down and informed him that she was aware this wasn’t his first foray into “performance art” seeing as he had done the same to the marching band during practice two days before. And before that the Biology Club’s meeting in the first floor labs. And before THAT he had mooned a group of students working in the library.

Beverly had commended him for his dedication to his “art” and gave him a choice. She had seen his type before. Multiple school transfer student. Multiple residency addresses. Mother, deceased. Father, a habitual transient. She knew his life could go different directions, and some them broke her heart. So she opted to try to push him in a direction that wouldn’t.

“Well?” She raised her brows and returned his hard gaze, “What will it be? Option one or option two?”

He rolled his eyes away from her and his expression flickered from ‘pissed off dissatisfied youth’ to actual respect for the Principle for a half a breath. Then the attitude returned and he mumbled, “Two… I guess.”

Beverly bit the inside of her cheek to kill her pleased smile at his choice. She opened a desk drawer and pulled out a paper, signed the bottom and offered it to him. “Have the secretary make a copy for our records and then report to the auditorium during your free fifth period. I’ll inform Mrs. Wendel that you’ll be assisting her every day there with whatever she needs help doing. She’ll keep me informed of your progress.”

He stood reluctantly and took the paper from her, eyeing her first and then looking at the paper. He gave a defeated sigh and left her office.

When he handed the school secretary the paper, she read it aloud with a huge smile, “OH! Welcome to Brant High’s Drama Club Dean Winchester!” She stood, went to the copier and fed it through, then turned and chuckled, “ She threatened to call your parents didn’t she?” She handed Dean the original paper back.

Dean just smirked and left.

————————————————————————————————————-

The bell for the beginning of fifth period sang out, and Dean found himself folding and unfolding the paper from the principle in his hands. The auditorium doors sat closed in front of him. An obvious threshold barrier that became more than just a physical one as Dean stood there. Once he opened those doors and walked through, there would be no going back. The guys he’d made friends with so far were punkers and potheads that hung out in the back school parking lot drinking while they sat on the backs of their cars. If he started hanging out with the nerdy theater kids his life with the punks was over.

He contemplated letting the Principle call his Dad, take the beating he’d receive and just get it over. But then the look on his little brother’s face from the last time that happened flickered though his mind. The look of despair, helplessness and heartbreak when Dad’s fist landed on Dean’s jaw… well that was a night Dean was never going to forget. And Dean had it coming. Kinda like now. He never wanted to see that look on Sammy’s face again. Ever.

Dean shoved the paper into his back pocket and opened the auditorium doors. Maybe, he thought, maybe the girls would be hot and at least there would be that. The auditorium beyond was empty and dark except for the stage and the first few rows of seats at the front. Various students sat chatting while a woman and a man were talking to each other on the stage. The stage lights flooded that area but deepened the shadows back where Dean was entering.

The woman was plump, with a mass of dark hair that she had bundled up on her head. She was wearing long fluttering skirts covered in batik flowers, a white cable knit sweater, a tie dye scarf around her neck and she was covered in jingly silver jewelry. Small red framed glasses were perched on her nose. She was leaning in talking to a man who held a clipboard. They appeared to be discussing something there, and then turning to look around the stage every so often for reference. The man was stocky with a full dark blond beard that was neatly trimmed. He was wearing jeans, a simple patterned sweater and a baseball cap.

Dean wandered down a main aisle and looked for some place to sit. The students already there looked him over and then began whispering between themselves in their little groups. They were generally dressed in a sort of semi-preppy style with Izod shirts and sweaters with jeans. A couple of girls were wearing the Olivia Newton John headband look. One guy had a Journey t-shirt on and had a full mullet hair cut. This guy gave Dean a half nod greeting but then his attention was tugged away when the brunette next to him needed to whisper in his ear.

Dean just gave them all a smug sneer and sat away from them by himself.

“Okay okay okay…”The woman on the stage called out to the students and gently clapped her hands together. She beamed a radiant smile out to them and put her hands out, palms up in greeting, “A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow…..” She paused and then exclaimed, “Shakespeare!” She fluttered her hands in to clasp them at her chest, “I hope through the magic of the theater arts we will all become friends here. As some of you know, I am Ms Wendel the head of the arts department here at Brant High. This is Mr. Singer, our wonderous shop class teacher. He’ll be in charge of crafting the sets and many of the props we will be using for the Christmas production this year.” She stopped to give little clapping applause to Mr Singer, who just half smiled and nodded but looked incredibly uncomfortable up on the stage with her.

“Now I want you all to come up on stage with us….” Her hands fluttered again with encouragement, “Come come…. I see new faces…. Come come…. I want to meet you all….”

The students began to stand and shuffle up hesitantly onto the brightly lit stage. Dean sat still a moment and then stood slowly, trying to hold back to be the last one up there. As he stood, he caught Mr. Singer looking at him, sizing him up. “Juuuust great.” Dean thought to himself.

Dean sidled up the steps to the stage and was just stepping past one of the huge indigo heavy stage curtains when there was a sudden commotion just behind his left shoulder, and WHAM! A group of students coming from backstage tumbled right into him. He caught hold of the first body to run into him, grabbing them by the shoulders while trying to make sure they both didn’t fall face first onto the stage. In the process he whirled the person around to face him. Dean revved up his growling sneer to yell at them for not watching where they were going.

Instead his breath was caught hard in his chest. A pair of deeply flashing blue eyes met his with unabashed confidence. It was a boy, just slightly shorter than Dean was. He had striking facial features and felt solid in Dean’s grip. The boy was wearing a black wide brimmed hat, he had longish shaggy black hair that had various colored ribbons and thread tied into it, and he was wearing a long black trench coat that was slightly too big for him. It gave him a sort of floppy adorableness to his frame.

Around them a small huddle of giggling girls had come stumbling with this boy, jamming into Dean’s space. The girls were wearing the Madonna look, with their hair tied up in loose messy tendrils with bits of torn lace. They wore fingerless gloves, broken rosary beads and colored bobby socks.

They could have been bits of bright torn confetti swirling around them and neither boy would have noticed. In the half split second they had collided, their eyes had locked deeply on each other and time seemed to stop.

Then as suddenly as it had happened, the boy was pulled from Dean’s grasp by one of the girls and the whole swarm whirled away towards the rest of the people on stage.

“Mr Novak!” Ms Wendel gestured in a grand fashion towards the boy Dean had just encountered, “So nice of you to finally join us!”

———————————————————————————————-

Dean spent the next twenty minutes in a daze. Ms. Wendell was explaining that the Christmas program this year would be Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol’ and that she was full to the brim with ideas and feelings and emotions for it. She wanted to hold auditions for the various parts tomorrow and she passed out copies of the script to everyone. When she got to Dean he just took the script from her and gave her a funny little helpless smile. As she smiled at him, her nose scrunched up and she gave him a good natured pat on the cheek. Then she went on to explain that Mr. Singer was designing the set and that everyone would be helping out either Mr. Singer, or with sewing the costumes, regardless of whether they had a speaking part in the play or not.

As she talked and went further into detail of her vision for the production, Dean’s focus would drift over to ‘Mr. Novak’, the boy with the long coat and the hat. At the moment he was surrounded by five girls, one was hanging lazily off his shoulder and another was playfully holding hands with him. Dean raised an eyebrow slightly at that. As the Novak boy listened to Ms. Wendell, his face was stoic and serious. As if she was imparting something of great importance to them all. Dean also noticed that the boy wore his hat back on the crown of his head, so it framed his face like a halo.

“Okay, I am dismissing all of you early today. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and there will be some nights when we will be here late. I’m sending permission slips home with all of you and I want you to bring them back tomorrow….”She began to pass small half sized papers out to everyone, “…now I want you to go home, read over the parts and prepare for the auditions tomorrow….”

Dean crammed his permission slip into his back pocket but held the script in his left hand, absently thumbing the staples in the binding’s edges. When he glanced up, he discovered Novak was looking at him, but his eyes darted away when they made contact.

“All right, all right…” Ms. Wendell waved her hands gingerly in the air, “Dismissed everyone….”

The girls around the boy named Novak were all hugging him, each in turn, and also planting kisses on either his cheek or chastely on his lips, “Bye Cas! See you tomorrow!” They cooed or giggled in their various sweetly chimed voices as they left him and bubbled off the stage.

Dean started to lean as if he would step closer to this strange fascinating boy, but then he felt a firm hand come down on his shoulder and turned to see Mr. Singer standing there.

“Dean Winchester is it, yea?” Mr. Singer said and he had an earthy gruffness to his voice that reminded Dean of camping in the woods, fishing trips and his Dad before Mom died.

Dean nodded and fumbled with the script in his hands, “Uh, yea. That’s me.”

“Milly…er, Miss Wendell…she told me you were sent down here by Principle Stevens.” Mr. Singer fixed Dean with a serious and unflinching stare, “And told me about your uh… overt bid for popularity around here.”

Dean was about to shrug out of the grip the man had on his shoulder, but then noticed that Mr. Singer was smirking slightly and the corners of the man’s eyes were crinkling with mirth.

“Look son,” Mr. Singer continued, “I need someone I can count on to help me with the heavier projects around here for this thing. I’m pretty sure Cas over there will be nailing the lead part, not nailing balsa wood to two-by-fours…” he nodded to Cas Novak, halo hat wearer, “…and while Ash will have his heart set on helping me….”he nodded towards the kid with the mullet wearing the Journey t-shirt, “…that kid’s talents are better with a paint brush.” He turned back to Dean, “So what do you say?”

Dean looked down at the script in his hands and suddenly felt relieved he might not actually have to be on stage. In front of a huge audience. Talking. He looked back up at Mr. Singer and gave a small nod, “Yea, totally. That’s…like, great.”

“Good. Call me Bobby. See you tomorrow.”He released Dean’s shoulder and with a small grin, turned and walked away.

Dean nodded and gave a weak smile in return, unsure about the man. Dean felt like Bobby was probably a good man, but then sometimes good men were hard for Dean to be around. “Because eventually I screw things up….” Dean said under his voice. Then he turned to see where Cas was only to find that the boy had already left.

Dean felt all the air go out of his lungs. For a split second, he thought maybe he had found a kindred spirit. A real friend. He shoved the script into an inside pocket on his leather motorcycle jacket and thought, “Take a chill pill there Dean, a totally righteous dude like that isn’t going to think twice about a punk like you.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Cas? Like, ohmyGAWD Cas, earth to Castiel Novak!” Trisha giggled and waved her hand in front of Cas’s face.

Cas blinked and gave her a half hearted scowl, then threw his most brilliant smile at her before pulling his milkshake to him and owning the straw in his lips. The six of them were crowded into one booth at the Steak-n-Shake across the street from the high school. Cas, the Milton twin sisters Trisha and Anna, Christina Gabriel, Katy Balthazar and Michelle Luca. Their families all lived on the same long street and they had grown up together as friends.

“He’s dreaming of all the Oscars he’s gonna win someday Trish. I’ve seen that look on his face before. It’s the look he gets when he gets his mind fixed on something he WANTS.” Christina playfully nudged Cas’s foot under the booth’s table.

Cas kept his eyes lowered now, focusing on stirring his milkshake. He just let a small hint of a smile play on the edge of his mouth and said nothing.

Michelle folded her arms and cut Cas with a hard intimidating stare, “He’s not thinking about the play girls. He’s thinking about the Sex Pistols.”

This elicited a roar of giggles and laughs from the girls and left Castiel’s cheeks burning. “See?” Michelle continued, “You are thinking about that punker!” She gently shoved Cas’s arm from across the table.

“How could he NOT? Did you see those TIGHT jeans??!” Anna fanned herself with her hand.

“Did you see what was IN those TIGHT jeans?!??” Trisha playfully growled and squealed.

“Where’s the beef indeed!!” Christina blurted out and the girls dissolved in a fit of laughter.

Cas couldn’t help but smile wide and get batted about gently by all their bodies as they shook the booth with their laughter. Still he said nothing and remained poking shyly at his milkshake. After a moment of letting the girls have their fun he pulled his script from an interior coat pocket and placed it on the table.

Katy pushed her empty milkshake glass away from her and pointed to the script, “Oh now he’s all down to business… we better behave!”

“Oh no you don’t Novak.” Michelle picked up the long handled spoon that they had served with the tall milkshake glasses and she pointed it handle end at Cas, “I saw you stealing looks at Motorcycle Jacket Boy when he wasn’t checking you out in return….”

“He was not…”Cas blurted out, but knew the boy with the Sex Pistols shirt had definitely been eyeballing him through the whole time they were on the stage. “He was looking at all of us. Probably is trying to figure out how to bang all five of you.”

“I practically had to use lethal kung-fu to get him to let go of you Cas.” Christina giggled.

“He was pissed off because we nearly flattened him…” Cas retorted.

Michelle made that sound in her throat at that moment, the one she’s been making since they were five years old to let them know that she was now in charge of the situation and it was time they all sat up and took notice. “ONE, “she started counting off on one hand, “He was looking at you. TWO, “she continued,”…The look on his face when you two were eye to eye was totally bitchin’. THREE, “she calmed her voice and lowered her hand, “Cas… we need to talk about you and liking guys and how you keep hiding behind us all the time. You can’t stay in the closet forever. You’ll never be happy keeping this hidden.”

The girls mood shifted and then all looked to Cas with loving concern. This was their brother, their friend. When he had confessed he liked boys and not girls, they had rallied with compassion and genuine love for him.

“Your Mom knows and she doesn’t care.” Christina said softly.

“Yea but you and my Mom, you’re different. I hear how people talk about AIDS and gays and … kids get kicked out of school when people start freaking out about this.” Cas curled his fingers around the script, instinctively grabbing for something that felt solid, “I’m not ready for other people to know yet. I’m just not okay?”

All of the girls went quiet, accepting of his wishes. Though Michelle’s eyes spoke of a steeled resolve somehow that Cas couldn’t quite figure out in spite of knowing her so well. She broke her gaze with him and instead pulled her purse out to dig money out to pay for their milkshakes. When their eyes met again, Castiel swallowed hard. Her look said she was letting this drop for now, but that she was not going to be silent about it forever. And that this matter with the punk rock boy was not over. Not by a long shot.

—————————————————————————————-

The next day Dean sauntered into the auditorium before the bell rang. He hung back a moment and flicked his fingers up through his spiked hair, then stopped puzzling at why he cared if he looked good or not. He made his way down the aisle and walked over to where Ms Wendell was sitting in the front row. Ash was sitting beside her and they were talking over a book of illustrations for Dicken’s stories.

Dean cleared his throat a moment and they looked up at him, “Yea, uh, sorry but…. Listen, I usually pick my kid brother up from school so is it okay if he walks over here and hangs out in the auditorium until we’re done?”

“Don’t you have a sixth period Mr. Winchester?” Ms Wendell set aside the book and reached over for her clip board files.

“Mrs. Stevens, the Principle, she moved my schedule around and transferred some classes an’ stuff so this will be my fifth and sixth period. An’ then when the show is over I’ll be in Mr. Singer’s shop classes instead.” Dean pulled a paper from his pocket and handed it to Ms Wendell.

Ash stood up with a grin, “Well all right man! You and me dude.” He pumped one fist into the air and it was so goofy but genuine that Dean couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Oh yes well…”Ms Wendell looked back up at Dean, “Of course he can stay here with us.”

“He won’t be a bother, he’s a good kid. Studies a lot….” Dean couldn’t help letting some of his pride for his brother leak out.

The back of the auditorium doors opened and closed a few times with a loud clacking sound as the students from yesterday, including Cas and the five girls, came in. Dean kind of shuffled, half swaggered over to the seat he had taken the day before and sank into it. The students came in, some claiming their seats from yesterday, some coming up to Ms Wendell to chatter and talk with her, some to greet Ash. Cas and his group took to sitting on the steps up to the stage, opposite from the side Dean was on.

Dean noticed that the wide brimmed black hat from yesterday was replaced by a snappy black fedora, and that Cas had removed some of the ribbons from his hair. Instead there was a bright rainbow colored scarf dangling lazily from the left pocket of the trench coat with a similar one tied and knotted around the ankle of Cas’s right combat boot.

Suddenly Dean realized that they were both wearing Doc Marten’s. Cas had the shorter 8 hole boot while Dean wore the taller 14 hole style. He smiled at that. It made Dean feel a little more at home here. When he looked up from the boots to Cas’s face, he caught Cas’s gaze again. The dark haired boy’s cheeks flushed and his deep blue eyes went wide.

Dean offered up a growing smile and let the corners of his eyes crinkle a little. He could feel warmth growing on his cheeks too but didn’t think twice about it. It wasn’t the first time a boy had caught his eye like a girl had, making his skin feel warm and his cheeks flush. It just didn’t happen as often. And he decided he liked the sensation that looking at Cas gave him.

“Okay everyone!” Ms. Wendell called out in a sing song voice, “We have a lot to do today. I’ll take permission slips in a moment here, but first… Ash? Dean? Mr. Singer is backstage and you boys should go back there with him now.”

Ash bounded up with a grin and didn’t even bother using the stairs. He just half jumped, place one foot up on the edge of the stage, and hoisted himself up.

Dean stood slowly and looked over at Cas and his group. Cas’s nose was buried into his script now, his cheeks still glowing from a moment before. Instead, one of the girls with Cas, a dark haired bright eyed one dressed very Annie Hall in a vest, button down shirt and a bright pink skinny tie locked eyes with Dean and held his gaze. It was if she was measuring Dean. As if she was deciding if Dean was worthy of something. Dean gave her a curious look back and then tossed her a smirk.

Dean followed Ash backstage to find Bobby next to a make shift drafting table set up near the lighting control wall. He had schematics of the stage drawn up, with different measurements and set drawings. He pulled up three stools and had the boys sit while they worked over the plans for building the sets. After they spent time doing that, Bobby had them come with him to the shop in the back of the school where they started measuring and cutting wood.

Two hours blew by quickly, and soon Dean was hauling support pieces from the shop back to the stage. When he walked onto the stage, his arms loaded with half assembled wood struts, he was taken by surprise to see his little brother Sam on stage smiling and holding a script while facing Castiel.

Dean stopped and held perfectly still as Sam’s voice rang out in the auditorium to say “Merry Christmas, Mister Scrooge.”

Cas, stooping a little as if he was older and burdened by time spoke out in a rough unhappy tone, “Don’t beg on this corner, boy…”

Sam replied reading from the script, “I’m not begging, Sir. I’m Tim Cratchit. I’m waiting for my father.”

“Tim Cratchit, eh? Well you’ll have a long wait, then, won’t you?” Cas sneered and then hobbled off away towards where Dean was standing.

“Merry Christmas, Sir!” Sam called sweetly and waved at Cas/Scrooge as he moved across the stage.

“HUMBUG!” Cas croaked out as he showed a menacing brace of teeth over his shoulder at the audience of students and Ms Wendell.

Ms Wendell clapped her hands with delight. “Yes yes yes…. This will work so nicely yes.” Both Cas and Sam turned towards Ms. Wendell, smiling with happiness. She continued, “Oh Sam, I am so happy you would like to join our cast.”

Dean slowly set the wood down and brushed his hands off. He couldn’t help but smile at how everyone seemed to fall in love with Sammy so quickly. And by the sound of his voice Sammy was in love with doing this too. “Well, there’s another permission slip I’ll have to forge. “ Dean chuckled to himself. But has he did, he realized his breath was visible coming out of his mouth, and that the air around him was suddenly very very cold. It made Dean’s eyes go wide, and he held his body very still as he moved his head to look around. Slowly he shifted so he could see the full stage again. Sam was turned in his direction, and they locked eyes. Sam had felt it to. The rest just seemed to huddle their sweaters closer around them.

Sam made to take a step towards Dean but Dean shook his head no quickly and starting carefully eyeing the upper rigging above the stage. He took one careful step again, and again his breath blew out into the cold air around him. He could see Sam shift his weight out of the corner of his eye.

Then Dean saw it. A flickering shadow whipped over the top of the main curtains where they hung. He swallowed and clenched his jaw. When he went to look back to nod to Sam to get off the stage, instead he found Castiel Novak looking at him with a curious expression, his head canted slightly to the side.

Suddenly there was a loud creaking sound, and a violent SNAP. Just to Cas’s left the massive stage curtains seemed to shift into a different angle and then just as quickly they were unfolding on top of themselves, rumbling to the stage surface with a rush of heavy fabric. Sam leaped, tucked over into a ball and tumbled off the stage into Ms. Wendell. A long broken bit of rope came down at Dean with a whip like snap at his feet, scoring the wood of the stage surface and making Dean jump back. The bulk of the curtains were coming down on top of Castiel. He twisted to leap away but found himself caught and then suddenly buried under layers of suffocating fabric. It pressed and crushed and pushed the air out of his lungs.

Cas suddenly realized he couldn’t breathe. Muffled sounds from the others were muted as his blood pounded in his ears. The more he pushed and struggled the more the curtain fabric squeezed at him. He choked, gasping for air that wasn’t there. Panic began to seize the corners of his mind and he could see the veins in his closed eyes go white in his vision. The pain was unbearable as his lungs began to burn and his head pounded in his skull. Everything started to pull into a tight black pinpoint and then suddenly there was nothing at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Cas was swimming. He could feel his body moving and pulling through delicious warm azure water. He lazily floated up to bob at the surface and look to a nearby beach. Its sands were glimmering pale in the sun and palm trees swayed luxuriously in the light breeze. He let the current carry himself up onto the shore and suddenly he was standing there, feet sinking into the soft warm sand. Abruptly there was someone beside him, and Cas thought, “I’m dreaming….” as a blissful smile sweetened across his lips. He reached out to the person and it was the beautiful punk rock boy from school. The one whose eyes were green as cool spring, but at the same time as hot as five suns. They were embracing now, and a thrill started sweeping through Cas’s body. His pulse picked up and his breathing…. Why wasn’t he breathing? Something in the back of his mind started to yell and cry out.

But then suddenly the punk rock boy’s perfect lips were on his, and they were kissing and melting into each other. Cas could feel the boy’s mouth opening his, and a rush of hot breath poured into Cas from the kiss. He moaned and pulled the boy closer and closer and….

Cas suddenly felt a sharp jab inside his chest and his lungs heaved alive, gasping hard and coughing as they filled with air again. His vision blinked out of his dream state as the light shifted from warm sunny beaches to the lights on the stage at school. Cas’s eyes went wide as saucers however when the punk rocker boy didn’t fade or vanish, but instead became focused into hard clarity just above his face.

Then the events of the last few moments hit Cas. This boy had somehow pulled him free of the curtains and given him mouth to mouth to get him breathing again. As Cas breathed hard, his mouth hanging open and quite aware now of the taste of the punk rocker boy’s lips on his, his face rushed crimson.

The punker leaned back on his knees. A deliriously happy and relieved look was dancing on his face, “Oh good. “ He said and then absently swiped the edge of his mouth with his thumb.

Cas was about to reach up to him when all chaos broke loose around them and they were swarmed by students and Ms. Wendell and now Mr. Singer. People were gasping, “What happened?!” “OHMYGAWD” “Can you believe this?” “Are they okay?!” and “Call the school nurse!” People were pulling Cas to his feet and other people were grabbing Dean’s shoulders and patting his back. But in all this chaos Cas and Dean never looked away from each other’s eyes until Sam’s arms came around Dean to hug him.

————————————————————————-

Sam was sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala. He was barely 12, and on the short side at the moment, but Dean had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the case for long. Sam had his school bag resting between his feet on the floor in front of him, and the script for the play going back and forth from one excited hand to the other.

“And then she said, ‘Does anyone want to read for the Tiny Tim part?’” Sam mimicked Ms. Wendell’s voice, “And I got excited and yelled out that I would…. Cuz I can’t do my math with all that talking going on… and Dean, Dean, did you see some of the girls there? Some are so pretty for sure! And then I got up to read and that tall guy with the hat said he wanted to read the Scrooge part and Mizzz Wendell said ,”okay!” and wham! It was totally radical!”

Sam took a long breath and put the script down in his lap, “And it’s good that I’ll be there with you since the place is haunted. We can take care of this together.”

Dean frowned a little. “I dunno Sammy. Maybe we should just run damage control until Dad comes back to town and let him take care of it.”

“No Dean. We can do this. You and me!” Sam turned in his seat to face Dean and Dean could feel Sam’s eyes imploring with him to give in, “What happened today, that was scary stuff Dean. We can’t let any body get hurt. We have to take care of it.”

Dean was silent until they pulled into the drive of the apartment buildings they currently lived at. He parked the Impala in the spot they had in front of the building and took the keys in his hand. Then he looked over at Sam, prepared to put his foot down and tell Sam no.

“Please Dean, I don’t want my friend Cas to get hurt again.” Sam reached out and touched the edges of his finger tips to Dean’s arm.

“Your friend Cas?” Dean had to smile at that one. And then he could feel heat creeping into his cheeks remembering how as Cas had come to, the mouth to mouth breathing had somehow morphed into a kiss.

“Yea.” Sam smiled, “When you were with Mr. Singer and those other people looking over how the curtains fell, I went and sat with Cas while the nurse checked him over. He said he’s going to help me with my lines, and help with my part. Did you know he’s been acting in plays since he was my age?!”

Dean leaned over and ruffled Sam’s hair with his hand, “Let’s do this. We’ll keep on guard. I’ll put a note in the classifieds in the papers to get in touch with Dad. Once he calls, I’ll discuss it with him. But then we do what Dad tells us to do. Okay?”

Sam just nodded and began to gather up his school bag, “Yea well, if something happens to your new boyfriend in the meantime, it’s not MY fault.” And with that Sam scooted out of the car, out of Dean’s reach.


	4. Chapter 4

The next two days were the weekend, so instead of school Dean went to the local paper and placed an AD in the classifieds that said ‘Dad. Local job at High School. Please Advise. From Impala Boy’. He paid for the ad to run for the next week in the paper. Then he went to the grocery store to stock up on canned goods and other sundries. When he got back to the apartment, Sam was standing on the coffee table in the living room area with the script in his hand but held behind his back as he tried to recite his lines from memory.

Dean just chuckled and began putting the groceries away. Just as he was nearly finished there was a knock at the door. Sam hopped off the table, but allowed Dean to go to the door and answer it.

It was Mr. Springer. In his hands he held a manila file envelope.

“Hey Dean, Sam, “ Bobby smiled, “Sorry to come find you on a Saturday but…”

Dean opened the door wide and gestured for Bobby to come in, “It’s totally cool. Come in. Want a Dr Pepper or sumthin’?”

Bobby shook his head and then pulled his baseball cap off as he walked in, “I need to talk with you Son, about something and I need you to be straight with me. Are we clear?”

Bobby looked at Sam a moment, as if waiting for Sam to leave the room, but both boys parked themselves on the couch and waited for Bobby to take a seat in a chair next to it. Bobby slid the envelope onto the coffee table in front of them all and sat down.

“You boys… is your Dad John Winchester? From Kansas?” Bobby fingered his hat in his hands and leveled his gaze at the boys. “Now, tell me the truth.”

“Yea, that’s our Dad. What of it?” Dean sat up a little, frowning at Bobby.

Bobby hesitated a moment and then said, “I know this is gonna sound crazy but, I’ve heard your Dad does…. Special jobs. Takes care of…. Spooky things and the like.”

Dean and Sam looked at each other a moment and then back at Bobby but remained quiet.

“I’m sorry, I have to know.” Bobby rubbed his face with one hand and took a deep breath, “I’m not crazy but I have to find someone to help me with this.”

Sam sat up on the edge of the couch, “It’s about that ghost in the auditorium isn’t it?”

Bobby’s face came up, a mix of hope and apprehension on it.

“Sam!” Dean scowled at Sam and Sam just shrugged. Then Dean turned to Bobby, “He’s on another job right now. In Memphis. He said he’d be back by Christmas but we don’t know exactly when.”

Bobby let out a weary sigh and reached to take the envelope, “Alright. Thank you boys anyway…”

Dean snapped two fingers down onto the envelope to hold it where it was, “I saw it today. Right before the curtains came down on top of Cas. A black smokey shadow. Roughly the shape of a person, but almost snake like too. And the air was cold, cold enough to see a person breathe out.” He held Bobby’s gaze and slowly pulled the envelope to him with his fingers, “What’s the story?”

“Nine, maybe ten years ago the drama teacher here at Brant High had a real successful run of several productions he put on. Then, at the height of all this success, he suddenly dies in the theater. Heart attack on stage during a rehearsal. Then after he’s gone, the school finds all this crazy voodoo stuff in the sub basement under the stage. It gets cleaned out, time goes by, everybody quits talking about it… you get the idea…” Bobby nods to the envelope and Dean opens it as Bobby keeps talking, “Then about five years ago weird things start happening every time a production is being put together. Lights that refuse to work, costumes going missing, tears and holes showing up in the sets, props getting destroyed. But no one has gotten hurt. It’s annoying stuff but not dangerous.”

“Until today.” Dean has been pulling all the papers and photos out of the envelope and arranging them on the coffee table. Pictures of the drama teacher, one Zachariah Stamford, and various photos of his plays. Pictures of damaged props and sets. And then photos of the voodoo ritual items and the sub basement.

“I had another Hunter out here a few years ago, a guy named Rufus. But he couldn’t nail anything down and I didn’t have enough to pay him to hang around…. But then nothing was really life threatening either.” Bobby sat back into the chair and took a long slow deep breath. “Rufus talked about John Winchester and well, after today I took a chance that he was your Father.”

Sam was holding one of the photos of the plays in his hands and his eyes started to grow wide. “Look!” He placed the photo down on the table and pointed to Zachariah taking a bow on stage. But Sam’s finger pointed just behind the man, to a hazy smoky shape shadowing him.

“Where is Stamford buried?” Dean asked.

“Dunno. Rufus said he went looking and couldn’t find it.” Bobby frowned a bit. “I can try checking the school records to see if there is anything in there about it.”

“Can we go see the sub basement today?” Dean looked Bobby in the eye and slowly flexed his fingers over the edges of his knees. “It can’t hurt to look around.”

“I have keys.” Bobby stood up and put his hat back on his head.

“Yee-haw!” Sam jumped up and shoved his fist into the air.

“Not so fast Sammy. You’ll be waiting in the car.” Dean speared Sam with a ‘we are not fighting about this’ look.

“Aw man.”

—————————————————————————

Cas has been pacing back and forth for ten minutes now. He was moving in front of the large bay window in the living room of their house. Outside the sun was streaming in but Cas can’t seem to get warm. He had his quilt wrapped around himself and a goofy knit cap that his Gran made him a few years ago on his head. She knit it to look like one of those silly sock monkeys but Cas loved it anyway. Well, at least he loved wearing it in private. Usually it cheered him right up but not today. Today he can’t shake the cold, and he can’t shake that oppressive feeling that had gripped him when he was wound up in the curtains. His lungs still sting a little too.

Pouting, he floped down to sit in the window. He had called the girls, but they were off getting their hair done and wouldn’t be free until later. His Mom had been called into the Hospital for something or other. She wouldn’t be home for hours. He stood up again and paced once more. He had already memorized all his lines. This wasn’t the first time he had played Scrooge’s part, and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed the transformation that went through the character and he enjoyed the range it allowed him to convey in doing so. Learning the lines had gone quickly for him.

Cas shuffled over to the table where he had a tea pot and cup resting. He picked one up, then the next and frowned. “Empty”

He shuffled around the room once more, and then once more again feeling fidgety. Then he tossed the quilt off onto the couch and the monkey hat as well. He marched into his room and pulled off his sweat pants and t-shirt. He pulled on black socks, black trousers which he rolled the cuffs up double so they would sit just at the top of his boots. Those came next, only he took the time to pull the black laces out of one and replace them with bright green laces instead. He took the matching green laces and just wrapped them around his ankle on his other boot, knotting them there. He pulled on his Culture Club t-shirt, and then his baggy black cardigan sweater, and then a long black knit scarf to wrap around his throat several times. Next came his signature black trench coat. The bold colored scarf was still hanging like a damsel waving to her prince from his pocket and he left it there. He grabbed his wide brimmed black hat, his knit gloves and headed out the door.

“It’s best to face one’s fears.” He said to himself stoically and he headed out walking to the high school.


	5. Chapter 5

“Well, this place isn’t creepy at all…” Dean emphasized the last words and didn’t hide his sarcastic tone. He and Bobby were walking around in the sub basement, flash lights in hand.

Beneath the stage was an extension of the schools regular basement which was a normal enough room. Often times it served as storage for props and pep rally banners. There were also trap doors in the stage, so actors could enter the scene from below in the basement. The space was well lit, warm and dry. Bobby had lead Dean through this space to the entry to the sub basement in its corner: a cellar door that opened to a set of wooden steps down into darkness.

Once past the creaking steps into the sub basement, the place was little more than a cave dotted with cement support pillars for the school. The walls and floor were earthen and it smelled damp. Bobby took Dean to a back wall where the ground had been packed smooth and a cement slab had been laid down. Near it were deteriorating wooden book shelves and a rusting card table.

Dean fished one of the photos from the envelope he carried and found one of the sub basement images. The cement slab in the photo had a ritual circle painted on it in some dark substance, but the slab now was blank and empty. Dean replaced the photo into the envelope and shoved it into the inside of his jacket. He did a close inspection of the book case and didn’t see anything other than a spider or two.

He and Bobby then began to slowly canvas the rest of the sub basement taking their time to look for places where it looked as if something had been hidden or buried. At one point Dean thought he had found a human sized area that looked more raised than the rest of the floor, but after pulling and digging at the dirt for a while, it turned up void of anything beyond a few earth worms.

He and Bobby circled around the sub basement again and came to stop together beside the cement slab again. Dean pointed his flashlight down at the slab, “You think there is anything under this?”

Bobby made a gesture for Dean to hand him the envelope. Once Dean gave it to him, Bobby crouched down and pulled out all the photos of the sub basement. Then he canvassed the light from his flash light around at the support pillars, as if counting them.

“This was moved. Back when Stamford was skulking around down here, the slab, the table and the shelves were in the middle there….”Bobby pointed to one of the photos showing the ritual set up and noted where the pillars were in relation to it, then he snapped his flash light to show the space where everything had sat before. “Probably nuthin’ under here, but we can try to lift it on Monday when there are more people about.”

Dean nodded and walked over to the space where the ritual slab had been before. He walked in a slow careful circle keeping his eyes on the ground, searching. Then he stopped and held still.

“Well?” Bobby gruffed as he stood. He was replacing the photos back into the envelope.

Slowly Dean lifted the light from his flash light and pulled it to pool at the wood ceiling directly above him, the underside of the stage’s basement floor.

There, etched into the wood with a dark colored substance filling in the lines, was the ritual circle that had been on the slab before. “….well hello there…” Dean whispered.

Bobby made his way over quickly and added his flash light’s light to Dean’s. “That isn’t in any of the photos from before. That wasn’t HERE before….”

Dean nodded and swallowed slowly. “I know. Look, the carving is fairly fresh. I’d say, within a few months even.” Then Dean flicked his light around the ceiling, getting a feel for where the wooden board planks ended.

Bobby caught Dean’s line of thought, “Let’s get tools from the shop. I have some extension cords. We can run power from the basement, set up some lights and power drill this outta here in an hour.”

Dean made a sound of agreement in his throat. Well so much for waiting for Dad. “I’ll meet you in the shop. I have to get a few things out of my car.” Like salt for example, Dean thought, and my cold iron crowbar. And maybe my damn shotgun while I am at it.

————————————————————————————

*( The English Beat - Save it for Later ---- http://youtu.be/0bM0wVjU2-k )

Dean could hear music* coming from his car before he was even close to it. But it wasn’t his usual Sex Pistols, Billy Idol or Oingo Boingo. It was something he never heard before. As he closed in on his car in the parking lot near the school’s theater entrance he could make out the lyrics better.

“Sooner or later….You hit the deck, you get found out…..Save it for later….Don’t run away and let me down…..You let me down….” Came floating in the air from the open windows of his Impala. One pair of shoes, Sammy sized, were propped up in the driver’s side open window. Another pair of boots was propped up in the back seat driver’s side open window. They were all moving or tapping to the bouncing rhythm of the song, “Black air and seven seas….All rotten through, but what can you do? ….I don’t know how I’m meant to act…With all of you lot….Sometimes, I don’t try…..I just know, know, know….”

“Sooner or later….” The song continued.

Dean walked up slapped his hand flat against the roof of the Impala several times in rapid succession.

Sam’s head popped up smiling in the open window, the Christmas Carol script in one hand. In the back seat Castiel Novak rolled up to sit, pulling his boots out of the window. His hat miraculously still on his head, the halo effect back around his face once more. He unlatched the door, opened it and slid out of the car to stand on the sidewalk with Dean.

Dean watched as Cas slid out smooth as a cat and a fast thought flickered through Dean’s brain about how maybe having Cas in his back seat again soon was an excellent idea. He flashed his gaze up to meet Castiel’s and held it there, enjoying how the color of Cas’s eyes seemed to shift deeper when they looked at each other. Dean openly gave Cas a cocky ‘hey baby’ smile and was about to speak when Sam opened the driver’s door and jumped out.

“Dean! Are you done? What did you find? What happened?!” Sam was gripping his copy of the script tightly in his hands.

Cas tilted his head again, looking at Dean like before on stage yesterday. It was intense curiosity but at the same time so calm and cool.

The look made Dean’s stomach tighten up inside and he could feel his cheeks flushing a little. “Sam, can we talk about this another time?”

“When I’m not around?” Cas said plainly. His voice was low and slightly rumbly. “Sam told me about Mr Singer coming to find you. About Stamford. About the voodoo stuff.”

Dean flashed a pissed look at Sam, and was rewarded with a simple innocent shrug from his brother. He turned back to Castiel, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Nice to see you too. “Cas gave him a half smirk and then placed his hand on Sam’s shoulder in a friendly almost protective way, “I was walking by and saw Sam alone in the car here. I thought I’d keep him company while he waited for you to come back. I was helping him with some of his lines… we got to talking and he told me about the thing in the theater.” Cas released his hand from Sam and stepped in close to Dean, so close it made Dean’s pulse pop a little faster. Cas lowered his voice and pinned Dean with a look directly into Dean’s eyes, “And considering that thing almost killed me yesterday,” Cas growled a little, “I think maybe Sam was right to divulge all this information to me.”

Dean blinked once. He took in a deep breath, and with it came Cas’s scent. It was the scent of the ocean at night and dark smooth sandy beaches. Dean’s instinct was to grab Cas, shove him against the car and sear their mouths together. But instead he just nodded and said, “Alright. Alright. Bobby… Mr Singer… and I found something in the sub basement. We are going to remove it now. I just need some stuff from my trunk.” He took a slow step back, then moved around to open the trunk.

He did not see Cas and Sam wink at each other, trading conspiratorial smiles.

Dean busied himself with loading his shotgun with salt rounds instead of thinking about what else Sam may have told Cas. He grabbed a large bag of salt and shoved it under his arm, picked up a half gallon plastic jug of holy water, his shotgun and a crowbar. The crowbar he wedged under his arm with the salt. Then he shut the trunk lid.

Cas frowned and his eyes narrowed when he saw everything Dean was holding. He especially focused on the shotgun and there was a flicker of worry on his eyes.

“You guys stay here, I meant it Sam. Bobby and I should be done in about an hour.” Dean took a step away from the car.

“Can….” Sam came to stand beside Dean and look up at him, “Can we wait in the library? Is that okay?”

Dean looked from Sam to Cas. Cas nodded a “why not?” look at Dean and Dean looked back down at Sam, “Lock the car. I’ll come find you there when I am done.” And Dean strode off.

Sam moved to stand beside Cas as they watched Dean cover the ground quickly to the entry of the theater.

“I think that went well. “Cas nodded, his eyes still following Dean, “I think he likes me.”

Sam just let out a low chuckle and turned to lock the car up. “Want to help me with some research?” Sam grinned and grabbed his school bag.

“What kind of research?” Cas gaze was held on the door Dean had used to enter the building.

“Let’s find where Stamford is buried.” Sam finished closing up the car. He hefted his school bag and looked at Cas. “It’ll be fun!” Then he started toward the part of the school where the library was located.

Cas looked puzzled a moment before following, then said flatly, “I don’t see how this could be considered amusing…..”

Sam just smiled and kept walking.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean held both flashlights steady in one hand and pointed them so that Bobby could finish setting up the last of the four flood lamps they had brought into the sub basement from the school’s workshop. So far everything had gone smoothly. They had run long extension cords from the basement level down the wood stairs into the sub basement and Bobby was just finishing connecting everything.

Bobby flicked the switch on the last of the four flood lamps, and the sub basement was bathed in bright white light. If anything it made the space feel grimmer.

Dean turned off the flashlights and stashed them near the bottom of the steps that lead up to the basement level. He gripped the bag of salt, broke a corner open and walked over to the area where they would be working. He walked in a large wide circle, slowly and carefully covering the ground with salt making sure the line went unbroken.

Bobby jogged up into the basement level and brought down a short ladder that he then placed under the ritual carving, in the center of Dean’s salt circle. Next he brought down a power drill and a small sharp hacksaw. He powered up the drill and began working on boring out the screw plugs and getting the boards loose.

Dean hefted his shotgun, tossed the crowbar into the circle with Bobby and then sat on the stairs to keep guard. He watched as Bobby worked and after a moment feeling guilty for just sitting there said, “I should be helping you with that….”

“No you don’t. You stay over there and keep an eye peeled. I don’t want that thing that tried to snack on Cas Novak munching on my ass because some idjit wants to play with my power tools.” Bobby snarked, turned off the drill and clipped it to his belt. He stepped off the ladder with practiced ease and reached to pick up the crowbar. “Just don’ get twitchy over there an shoot me by accident neither.”

Dean couldn’t help but smile at the look on Bobby’s face. There was a snarl on Bobby’s lips but the light in the older man’s eyes was good natured and playful.

Bobby got back up on the ladder and started to wrest one of the boards free. There was a normal groan from the wood as it was pulled free, then the usual wooden snap as part of it broke away. “Well, damn.” Bobby frowned.

Dean could see from where he was sitting what the problem was. The board had broken near the edge of the ritual circle, leaving it completely intact.

“We have a problem Dean….” Bobby leaned up and scraped a bit at the wood where it pressed against the underside of the basement floor, “This wood is seated into a layer cement above it.” Bobby stepped off the ladder and turned the crowbar in his hand. “Someone installed this from the top down. We won’t be able to pull it out this way.”

And then at that moment all the flood lamps died, leaving them in complete darkness.

“Son of a bitch….” Dean said.

————————————————-

Sam had found the mircoflim records of past news papers and other documents with such quickness it astounded Cas. They hadn’t even settled into reading through the old records very long when Sam had found something fairly recent. And disturbing. They looked at each other, grabbed Sam’s school bag and ran out of the library together.

————————————————-

“Dean…can you get the flashlights?” Bobby called in the darkness.

“I have them, they aren’t working either. Hang tight to that crowbar Bobby….”Dean tried the switch on the flashlight one more time before giving up and shoving it into his pocket. “I’m at the stairs, I’ll go up and see if …”

Bobby yelled cutting Dean off, “Go boy! Git outta here! NOW!” There was a controlled panic clip to Bobby’s voice that made Dean pause for half a second before he did as he was told.

Dean stumbled and grabbed his way to the top of the wooden stairs into more darkness. The basement was without power as well. Below he could hear Bobby gasping, or grunting, as if he was struggling with something.

Dean crouched and used the nose of the shotgun to help him feel his way forward as fast as he could to try to get to the door that lead to the rest of the school’s basement, and up and out into the rest of the building. He found it faster than he had hoped, but trying the doorknob found it locked. Dean began bashing the stock of the shotgun against the door to open it by force.

Behind Dean there came a loud cry from Bobby, and the smashing sound of one of the flood lamps crashing to the ground. Dean gripped the gun so tight it made his knuckles white and pounded harder on the door, willing it to fly open. Another crash from the sub basement, only this sounded like the bookcase breaking. Bobby gave another gritty cry. Dean pulled back and threw his whole shoulder into each motion; slamming the stock so hard it began to split the recoil pad. Suddenly he could see flickering light coming from under the door.

“DEAN!” Sam called from the other side.

“SAMMY! Get out of here!” Dean yelled through the door.

“Dean! Take this!” Sam pushed something under the door. It was a pack of matches. “Dean, the remains are in the basement! Look for a commemorative plaque in the floor….”

Dean grabbed the matches and began to feel along the wall of the basement, “Sam, is Cas with you?!”

“Here!” Cas called back.

“CAS! Get my brother OUT OF HERE. And yank the fire alarm on your way out!!” Dean kept following his fingers along the wall until he found the rolls of old pep rally banners. A wide grin crept over his face. Beyond the door he could hear Sam protest as he was being dragged off by Cas.

Dean struck a match and began to light up the pep rally banners. The old parched paper caught fast and burned quick. Suddenly the basement was dancing with firelight. He scrambled now, pushing boxes and other sundries away from the floor right above where the ritual circle sat. There in the floor he found a bronze plaque stating that the bones of Zachariah Stamford rested beneath, interred there within the last year. But the bronze plaque was seated into the cement.

Dean whirled around and grabbed hold of one of the pep rally banners that wasn’t yet fully consumed by the flames. He raced down into the sub basement with this large flaming torch held over his head. He very nearly tripped and stumbled on the old steps, but managed to launched himself over to the salt circle instead.

A large swath of dirt had broken the circle in one spot and Bobby was on the ground within, struggling with a large smoky shadowy form. He would swing the crowbar and slice through it only to have it reform again with blinding speed.

Dean thrust the burning banner up against the carved wood ritual circle. The flames rushed up against the dry wood, finding purchase in the exposed carving. But as it rushed up, it also came coursing down the paper towards Dean’s bare hands.

There was a strange hissing squeal sound and the smoky shadow writhed away from Bobby, rushing instead at Dean. It wrapped around Dean’s head and throat, quickly blinding him. Dean dropped the flaming banner and his body buckled down onto his knees. The apparition began shoving its way into Dean’s nose and mouth, pushing itself down into Dean’s throat. Dean fell over sideways, convulsing and clawing at the thing only to have his fingers slide right through it. Just as Dean could start to feel it slipping like grainy oil down his throat into his body, it gave a violent jerk and began to recoil. Dean curled over pressing his face against the dirt floor, heaving hard to vomit the thing out of his body. He expelled it, and fell to his back trembling.

Above him the ritual circle was burning. The flames ripped and rolled across its surface like a cascade of hot orange liquid. For a moment Dean was lost in the beauty of it, the warmth pouring into his body from it. Then rough hands were hauling him up and hoisting him to his feet, a rough voice telling him to get moving.

Bobby gripped him by his motorcycle jacket, shoved Dean towards the stairs and then up them. The basement before them was roaring with flames and the heat made Dean’s eyes fill with tears. Bobby half shoved him, half threw him towards the door. Then Bobby picked up Dean’s shotgun from where it had been left by the door. Bobby cocked it and shot at the doorknob once, then cursed when the salt rounds did nothing. He shoved the shotgun into Dean’s hands and started taking off the plaid flannel shirt he wore over his t-shirt.

Bobby reached up to the door hinges, and covering them with his shirt, began to wriggle free the hinge pins. One they were tossed free, it was easy for Bobby to pry open the door and shove Dean through. Bobby followed and they both stumbled coughing into the hallway beyond. Around them the fire alarm bleated out shrilly. The two of them rushed away down the hall and out of the building.


	7. Chapter 7

Two hours later Dean, Sam and Cas wandered wearily out of Principle Steven’s office. Dean was dirty with ash and soot but no worse for wear. Bobby Singer was still back inside with the Principle, but the fire department had decided it was an electrical fire caused by faulty wiring, and the authorities had bought Bobby’s story about he and the boys just being there to work on props for the school play.

The damage to the basement beneath the stage, and the sub basement was extensive. But no one would be able to go down there and take inventory until the following day. Or Monday at the latest. Bobby had told the boys to go home, get some rest and stay away from the school until Monday.

The three walked silently out of the school building and across the grass towards Dean’s Impala. At one point he jogged slightly away from them to retrieve his shotgun from some bushes he had stashed it in during the earlier commotion with the fire fighters. When Dean came back to Sam and Cas, he flashed them a pleased smile. Sam just nodded, but Dean was met with dark serious eyes on Cas.

“What?” Dean challenged, meeting Cas’s dark gaze, his own green ones still flashing a little from the excitement from earlier.

“You could have been killed.” Cas stopped walking and shoved his hands deep into his trench coat pockets. His brow was pulled into a gentle knot and the corner of his mouth was sour.

“So?” Dean chuckled.

“So you think that little of yourself?” Cas cocked his head and closed the space between them with one step. “Really?” His intense look locking on Dean’s eyes never waivered.

Sam grabbed both their arms then, tugging on Dean, “I’m hungry. Can we go?” He looked up at Dean, and pulled out the best puppy dog eyes he could muster. He didn’t want to see them fight with each other.

Dean rolled his eyes, and rolled his body away in the same motion. He walked straight for the Impala and opened the trunk to stash the shotgun. He tossed Sam the keys so he could unlock the car and get in through the passenger side. Sam slid over to unlock the driver side for Dean once he was in.

Dean began to reach for the door handle but Cas placed his hand over Dean’s, and held it there against the car. Both young men locked eyes again, that primal challenging vibe began simmering just below the surface.

“You’re not going to let this go are you?” Dean scowled and leaned in, his nose nearly bumping Castiel’s. It made Cas lean back slightly, but he didn’t go far. It seemed to be more about adjusting himself so he could keep an even focus on Dean’s eyes.

“No, I’m not going to let this go…” but when Dean started to sneer back a retort, Cas simply laid one gentle finger on Dean’s lips. “But I’m not going to fight with you here about it. Okay? So… let’s just..”

A moment passed between them. Whether it was the closeness of their bodies standing together, the edging rawness of their emotions building or the heat of the setting sun on their faces neither knew. Cas let his finger slip slowly off Dean’s lips and neither one breathed. They could feel each other’s pulse thrumming in the air around them selves. It was as if they were no longer standing there on the sidewalk, but instead were floating, sliding off the face of the earth to glide into weightless space. Finally with his cheeks flushing bright, Cas broke their gaze and looked down at his shoes.

“Look, if… If you give me a ride home, you could stay and have dinner with me and my Mom.” Cas flickered his eyes up to meet Dean’s again, “And instead of us bitching at each other I could take you to a movie…..”

The insanely seductive smile that spread over Dean’s lips at that began to border on obscene.

“Hop in”

——————————————————————

After stopping briefly at the apartment Dean and Sam were living in so that Dean could grab a fresh set of clothes, they drove to Castiel’s house. It wasn’t too far and Sam chatted about the Christmas play the entire time. Now and then, Dean would steal a look at Cas sitting in the back seat, and they’d share a look that left Dean having trouble staying on the road.

Cas’ house sat with one big magnolia tree in the front yard and smaller trees to the side. It was an older house, and Cas explained it had belonged to his Grandparents. Dean pulled into the driveway alongside Cas’ mother’s Honda Civic.

No sooner were the boys out of the Impala, all five of Cas’ girlfriends came out of Cas’ front door. Some ran to hug him, smiling big and happy. Some just came up and gave his hand a squeeze while giving him a peck on the cheek. All of their eyes cut over to Dean and Sam during the exchange, bubbling giggles on their lips as they said hello.

“Um, Dean and Sam, this is Trisha and Anna, Katy, Christina and Michelle… girls, this is Sam and Dean Winchester….” Cas gave a somewhat shy smile as he did the introductions. Each girl came over instantly to greet them, starting with Sam first. Some gave him hugs while others just shook Sam’s hand. They exclaimed how they had enjoyed Sam’s audition the day before and how excited they were to be in the play with him. Each girl’s reaction to Dean was a little different however. The twins just smiled and offered their hands, grinning like Cheshire cats the entire time. Katy did the same but squeezed Dean’s hand warmly when they shook. Christina all out threw her arms around Dean’s neck and gave him a big warm hug. Dean realized this was the girl Cas had been holding hands with the other day during class in the auditorium. Michelle simply leaned in when she came over to Dean and said, “Hurt him and I will wear your intestines as my top fashion accessory to the prom….” And then backed away with a steely smile.

Dean got it right there and then that these weren’t just friends to Cas. These girls were family. They were his sisters by spirit not by blood, but his sisters nonetheless. He found himself both comforted by that knowledge and terrified of it in equal measure.

While the twins giggled and fussed over Sam, leading him into the house, Christina took Dean’s hand and led him inside just behind them. Dean glanced over his shoulder to see Michelle glaring at him while Katy and Cas came following inside next.

Cas’ Mom was inside the kitchen. She was a shorter round-bodied woman whose smile just vibrated with life. Her dark hair was the same color as Castiel’s, but her eyes were a light icy gray that contrasted the warmth of her face. She had made a huge pot roast with little potatoes and carrots, baked bread and made hot cocoa. She welcomed Dean and Sam with hugs and smooches to their cheeks then put Sam to work setting the table while she shooed Dean upstairs to take a shower with one command of “Soot off!”

While they got dinner set up and ready, Cas’ Mom talked about the meeting she had at the hospital and she asked everyone about how the play was going. Through the conversation Cas’ eyes kept wandering to the stairs leading to the second floor where Dean was showering. Christina slipped beside Cas to take hold of his hand and nudge him to go up there. But just as Cas had worked up the nerve, Dean came wandering back down.

And he stopped conversation entirely when he walked into the kitchen.

Instead of his usual jeans, he had traded them for a pair of leather pants. His usual skull belt with the multiple chains still fit snug on his hips, the chains draping suggestively over his thigh. He had put on a black button down shirt that had red flames threaded on the collar and cuffs and he had taken extra care to thicken up the eyeliner around his eyes.

Cas’ Mom just chuckled at the stunned silence in the room and she leaned down to tap Sam on the nose, “How about you sleep over here tonight. We can make waffles in the morning?” Sam looked eagerly over at Dean, but Dean was looking only at Cas’ reaction.

Cas was standing there somewhat slack jawed. His dark blue eyes had gone wide, and the irises had faded into a pale blue. He swallowed thickly as his eyebrows slowly floated up on his forehead.

Christina, still holding Cas’ hand, nudged her friend once and when she saw he was not going to respond, she spoke up, “Dean every Saturday night we go see Rocky Horror Picture Show. You’ll come with us tonight won’t you? Please?!” Cas snapped out of his daze and shot Christina a panicked look.

Dean threaded that smile over his lips again, the same one as earlier. The one that seemed to stop time for Cas and make rivers of heat run through Cas’ veins. He never left looking at Cas but said to Christina, “That sounds like fun.”

“Bitchin!” Christina let out a happy laugh and tugged Cas with her into the dining room. “This is gonna be excellent…”


	8. Chapter 8

After dinner, Dean and Sam took on cleaning up, while the girls and Cas vanished up stairs to get ready. Cas’ Mom poured herself a glass of Muscato wine and wandered off to watch the TV show ‘The Incredible Hulk’.

Soon the upstairs chaos came downstairs, transformed for the evening. Anna was wearing what looked to Dean like one of the sluttiest maid outfits he had ever seen, with her hair all teased out wild and her garters showing. He felt the need to cover Sam’s eyes until she put her over coat on. Trisha came down wearing rainbow coloured shorts, a gold sequined jacket, a short red wig and a top hat. Katy and Michelle were dressed in satin tuxedos and they had brightly coloured cummerbunds and ties on with it. Christina came down next to last wearing a very simple conservative light pink dress that looked like it came from the 60’s. With her she carried a small shopping bag that had news papers sticking out of it, as well as the nozzle of a squirt gun or two.

Dean smiled, and poked in the bag to see what else was there. Christina playfully slapped his hand, “Oh no you don’t… VIRGIN….”

Dean stood up and frowned, his green eyes getting intense looking at her, “Hold on there, I’m no virg..”

“Ease up there tiger.” Anna laughed, “You’re a virgin of the Rocky Horror Experience. And get ready because that means you MUST dance.”

“D…dance?” Dean paled.

“Oh I want to go and see this….” Sam smirked.

“Yes, dance. “Trish grinned. “Don’t worry. It’s fine. You’ll be great.”

“I don’t understand, I thought this was a movie….” Dean faltered when Cas came into the room.

He was wearing a full satin tuxedo, whose pants seemed to hug the curve of his thighs and backside like it was an art form. Like the girls, his cummerbund and bow tie were a solid bright color. In his case, bright aqua. It played off his eyes in wonderful ways.

“We’ve been trying to get Cas to do Frank’s part,” Christina began to pull on very lady like white gloves, “I think he’d look so radical in a corset it would be a SIN.”

Dean canted his head around to face Cas directly, “A corset huh?”

“And fishnet stockings…”Trish nudged Dean in the arm and gave him a wicked grin.

Dean swallowed, his lips tight and his eyes wide. He had to move slightly so his front was hidden more by one of the chairs next to him. He glanced over to Cas who was pretending to fuss with a flower in his lapel. Cas’ cheeks were crimson.

“Mainly because he’s so good at singing Frank’s parts.” Christina chimed in, “The other guy that does it is good, but he’d make a better Riff if you ask me.”

“Let’s go kids,” Michelle was standing by the open front door, “Time is fleeting….”

“Don’t let madness take too much of it’s toll tonight….” Cas’ Mom called from the other room. “And Sam, ‘Dukes of Hazard’ is starting…. Come and watch.”

———————————————————————————————————

The theater had searched them on entering, to make sure people didn’t bring things in… like squirt guns, news papers, rice, and playing cards to name a few. The girls had gone in first, while he and Cas waited by the ladies room window with the bag of stuff for the show. They would pass the bag through the window and then enter normally themselves. While they were waiting for the girls, Cas had been telling Dean about the first time he had gone to Rocky Horror with another boy named Bob Merrymill. It had been a date, and Cas had been eager to impress Bob, but instead just managed to embarrass himself over and over again.

Dean was almost full on giggling.

“And the rice went RIGHT into his eyes? No please no…” Dean’s sides were hurting.

“I didn’t mean for it to do that, I just tossed it up into the air. His face just got in the way…” Cas gestured with his hand, his own face nearly crying with laughter and Dean almost fell over laughing.

“….his face just got in the way….” Dean wheezed.

“Hey you two chuckle heads…”Trisha called from the window, “Pass it over.” They made the exchange seamlessly. Dean and Cas turned together in sync to walk to the theater entry.

“Did you ever see him again?” Dean walked close, their shoulders gently bouncing against each other as they did.

“Everyday at work, “Cas said while wiping the corner of his eye, “It was mortifying.”

Nothing could have prepared Dean for the full on spectacle that awaited him inside. Hundreds of high school and college age kids had turned up from all over the area, and most of them were in costume in one way or another. A guy in a wheel chair was wearing a suit with a bald skin wig on, and big goofy framed glasses, but you could see high-heeled shoes and fishnet stockings on under his trouser legs. Girls were dressed like Anna and Trisha, or like Christina. Mainly the guys were dressed in the tuxedos, but only Cas group were in satin. Some guys were dressed like an emaciated butler with stringy white hair.

As the six of them found seats, three guys wearing dark wigs and black sparking vampire capes came swishing into the room. Dean could see they wore high heels and fishnets, and corsets, and figured this was the part the girls were trying to get Cas to take on.

Then the lights dimmed and everyone became very very quiet.

Cas leaned close to Dean, brushing his lips against Dean’s ear to whisper, “Just follow my lead when people get up to dance. “ And whether Cas did it on purpose or not, he rubbed Dean’s cheek a little with his nose as he turned away. It made all kinds of wonderful things happen deep inside Dean’s chest.

Music began, and soon a huge pair of red lips filled the screen.

(http://youtu.be/G5MHNvOVl8Y)

“Michael Rennie was ill the day the earth stood still,   
But he told us where we stand,  
And Flash Gordon was there in silver underwear,  
Claude Raines was the invisible man,  
Then something went wrong for Fay Wray and King Kong,  
They got caught in a celluloid jam,  
Then at a deadly pace it came from outer space, and this is how the message ran…”

Dean shivered and smiled, knowing every single one of those cult movie references.

Around him the crowd sang out, “Science Fiction - Double Feature! …….Dr. X will build a (sexual) creature. ……….See androids fighting (and fucking and sucking!) Brad and Janet! ……….Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet. …….Oh-oh at the late night, double feature, picture show. (in the back row!)…….”

Dean realized the crowd was adding dirty words and sexual sayings to the song and he grinned wide. This, this was his kinda crowd. These… these were his people.

As the movie progressed, Christina got up to mimic the part of Janet up at the front of the stage along with Anna who mimicked the maid, Magenta.

Then after two songs and some story progression, everyone was standing and Cas reached over to grab Dean’s hand to guide him from his seat out into an aisle. He directed Dean to stand beside him, and there was a long moment when Cas openly ogled the front of Dean’s leather pants. Cas quickly looked up smiling but his eyes were dark and hot. Dean though this night couldn’t get any better.

And then they did the Time Warp.

(http://youtu.be/Rtkdo7bOmJc)

It started with a hard rhythmic guitar, and then everyone was singing again with the character Riff on screen. People were bouncing but they all had their hands held almost to their sides. Dean looked at Cas, who flashed him this excited grin.

“LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! ….LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!”

Suddenly Dean was jumping to the left, and then stepping to the right. He had his hands on his hips, and then he pulled his knees in tight. But it really was the pelvic thrust that nearly drove him insane…. Because beside him Cas was thrusting too, and Dean couldn’t help but let out a loud lusty laugh.

“LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN! ….LET’S DO THE TIME WARP AGAIN!”

At this point Cas ignored the movie screen, and his friends on stage singing and dancing. He grabbed Dean and yanked him close, Cas’ fingers digging into Dean’s hips. Cas just writhed in time with the music, rubbing and bouncing against Dean’s body. Dean gripped back, grasping Cas by the shoulders to balance himself. Cas nodded his head up, and when Dean looked at him, Cas swooped in for a fast hot hard kiss.

Then he shoved Dean away and returned to dancing along with the rest of the crowd.

The big dumb grin on Dean’s face lasted well into the reprise for “I can make you a man!” and from there it only grew bigger.

The rest of the night Cas alternated between following along with Rocky Horror Picture Show and striking out to steal unexpected heated kisses with Dean. During “Wild and Untamed Thing” Dean nearly lost his mind and his dignity with the way Cas was manhandling him. And Dean’s leather pants could barely hide it.

The show ended, no one had rice thrown in his or her eyes, but the theater was a mess.

Everyone left, laughing and talking. Faces and bodies flush from the singing, dancing and other things.

The girls, Cas and Dean made their way back to Dean’s Impala in the parking lot. Trisha, Anna and Christina had broken out in another chorus of ‘Toucha Toucha Touch Me’. When they were almost at the car, Katy hooked her arm with Christina and whispered to her. Christina then snagged Trisha’s arm, and whispered to her. They both grabbed Michelle’s and Anna’s arms. They too were told some secret which made Michelle’s eyebrow shoot up and look directly at Dean. Anna just waved at Cas and Dean.

“Hey, we’re gonna go grab some food at the Steak n Shake across the street…” Christina called to Cas and Dean. “We can get a ride home from one of the other kids.”

“You guys have fun now!” Anna sang out with a grin.

Then arm in arm, the girls detoured from the Impala and made their way towards the restaurant nearby.

There was a full ten second pause as Cas and Dean watched the girls giggle and saunter away. Then abruptly Dean grabbed the back of Cas’s tux jacket and hauled him up against the side of the Impala. Another pause came as Dean looked into Cas’ eyes, searching for either a stop or a go sign. Cas looked down as he fished something out of a pocket. He held it up to Dean for inspection.

It was a condom still in its wrapper.


	9. Chapter 9

That condom stayed in its wrapper …..for now.

A dutiful police officer meaning to clear all the teen hooligans out of the area beamed a spot light at the two boys making out against the 1967 Chevy Impala and asked them to “break it up”.

Dean was driving now and his right arm was stretched along the back of the front seat. He tugged playfully on Cas’s tuxedo jacket at the shoulder with his fingers, but didn’t look over at Cas. Cas’ left arm was wound under and over Dean’s along the top of the back seat. His fingers drummed gently against the leather of Dean’s motorcycle jacket in time with the music playing on the cassette.

(http://youtu.be/U83V2a_Yq9w)

“Stranger…..stranger…..

It’s hot here at night, lonely, black and quiet

On a hot summer night

Don’t be afraid of the world we made

On a hot summer night…”

Cas shifted in the passenger seat so he could look over at Dean while he drove. His eyes intensified a little as he slowly just drank in Dean’s profile. Beyond his growing desire to make himself acquainted with Dean’s most secret sexual places, Cas also realized he wanted to know the secret places in Dean’s mind as well. He watched Dean’s eyes as they stayed focused on the road and how they squinted just slightly when the headlights of on coming cars came down the road. The light briefly made the green of Dean’s irises glow golden.

Cas realized Dean was driving them back to Cas’ house and he reached more to press his fingers strongly into Dean’s arm. “Don’t go home yet….” Cas spoke just loud enough to be heard over the music. It came out low and sultry though, more than he had intended. He realized he was still feeling turned on and a little needy from their physical proximity earlier.

“Okay,” Dean replied, his voice throaty as well, and that sly naughty smile crept over his lips. “But where to?”

“I know…” Cas took a bearing on where they were. “Turn right at the next intersection. Then follow that road over the bridge. Hang a left at the traffic light after the bridge.”

“Out to the beach?” Dean flicked his eyes over at Cas curiously.

“No, too many people, too many cops.” Cas was suddenly happy for once he lived in Florida. The air wasn’t too cold this time of night and where he was taking Dean wouldn’t be hit by the wind much. Being out in the night air would be fantastic and he knew where they could have some privacy. Cas also realized that he was getting a little nervous and not being interrupted again would help him not to back down.

They crossed over an inland waterway with the bridge, and Dean turned as he had been asked. Cas directed him to make another left after a moment, and Dean found himself pulling into a well-lit public parking lot for a local boat launch. Cas pointed over to one side however, where the Impala could park away under some trees, hidden from the bright lights. Dean barely had the car parked when Cas opened the passenger door and hopped out.

“I don’t suppose you have a blanket back there in your hardware store of a trunk?” Cas asked playfully through the open door.

“Think so…”Dean answered but his eyes went a little wide with panic.

Cas shut the door and went back to open the trunk. Dean launched himself out of the car to try to beat Cas to the rear. He wasn’t sure he was ready for Cas to know what his family did.

But it was too late. Cas had the lid open and was peering intently into the trunk. Parking in the shadows made it hard from him to see what he was looking at, but most of it was visible just the same. “What is all this stuff?” Cas leaned in closer, looking harder.

Dean took a deep breath and planted his hands on his hips. He swallowed deeply and rolled his eyes a little, then stepped next to Cas. He nudged him out of the way a bit, and reached in to grab one of the flashlights he knew was there. He took another deep breath and flicked it on.

Cas made a little gasping sound.

The trunk had more than just the shotgun in it. There were two single pound bags of salt, a jug of water with a rosary floating inside it, some small leather bags with herbs and feathers sticking out of them, five crucifixes, two medallions that had odd carvings on them, a handful of wooden stakes, a crossbow, a rifle, several hunting knives, a machete, rope, duct tape, a hammer and other general use tools, a silver cross, a silver knife, two cans of that liquid you used to start fires at barbecues, several old books and a large curved animal horn.

Cas held very still a moment and Dean could guess what he was thinking.

“Wish you hadn’t taken your serial killer boyfriend to such a secluded spot now huh?” Dean smirked.

Cas snapped his head over to look at Dean, “Boyfriend?”

Now it was Dean’s turn to stand there with his mouth gaping a little. He gave a half smirk, half smile and shrugged his shoulders. His eyes were dancing with delight.

Cas straightened up and stepped back slightly. He looked from Dean to the contents of the trunk and then back to Dean again, “Who ARE you?” His eyes narrowed and he tilted his head slightly.

Dean chuckled softly and lifted part of the bottom of the trunk space up, then pulled out a large woolen plaid blanket from its storage spot. He closed the trunk securely and then locked up the car. Flashlight still in hand he walked back to stand face to face with Cas.

“Where were we headed?” Dean said it softly while nudging Cas’ arm gently with his arm holding the blanket.

Cas kept frozen to the spot for seven full heartbeats. Then he took in a long slow breath and took the flashlight out of Dean’s hand, “This way….”

Beyond the parking lot there was a nice wide pathway that unfolded out into a large wood boardwalk that extended out and over the water. It came to a “T” and split left and right. Cas halted a moment, looked up at the gibbous moon looming to their left and headed that way. The boardwalk wound along the edge of the water, and after walking a few more moments, Cas gestured for Dean to spread the blanket out. When they finally sat down, they had an incredible view of the moon over the water. The only sound was the water lapping gently against the boardwalk support pylons, and the gentle rustle of the breeze occasionally in the trees behind them on land. Cas shut off the flashlight so the moon bathed everything in its pale glow.

Dean sat back, his arms straight behind and his legs stretched out. Cas was next to him, his legs crossed, with his elbows rested on the inside of his knees. Dean’s eyes drank in the moon while Cas fiddled with the flashlight in his hands.

After a long silence Dean spoke, his voice very soft and calm, “When I was five, my Mom died in a fire. I had to carry Sammy out while my Dad tried to rescue my Mom.” He took a small breath and continued, “It was all caused by some…. Thing. I think Dad knew what it was, or he knows now but hasn’t told me or Sam yet. I dunno. I just know it was something wicked, something foul. Something maybe like the thing in the auditorium. And not long after that Dad decided that he had to do whatever he could to make sure what happened to us didn’t happen to anyone else.” Dean could feel Cas looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. “And as Sam and I got older, Dad started training us. To do what he does. To help people. To save people.” Dean took a long breath and sat up, though his lean muscled legs stayed spread out in front of him. “Cas, last year I hunted a killed a werewolf. A real goddamn werewolf. After, I was thinking how other guys my age, they were worried about football practice or going to the prom. And here I was, doing these incredible things….”

“…being a hero….” Cas said softly.

Dean angled his face to look over at Cas and he smiled a little. “Yea. I guess…..yea.”

“That’s why what happened in the sub basement today didn’t faze you.” Cas turned to look directly at Dean, shifting how he sat. “And this is something you’ll do the rest of your life?”

Dean closed his eyes a moment and then looked back at Cas, “I don’t see how I can chose any other path. How can I walk away? How can I let people die Cas? How can I do that?”

Cas blinked once quickly. He was holding his breath a little and he realized his hands were trembling. But he knew they weren’t because he was afraid of Dean, or because he was cold, or because he was scared. This was a feeling that went much deeper, deep to his core. It was vast and wide and hot. It filled him up and ripped so much through his body it made him shiver. The realization of how he truly felt about Dean suddenly became crystal clear and without doubt.

He nodded once in understanding to Dean. The depth of trust Dean had placed in him just now keeping him from forming words he was so touched by it.

“….so….still weirded out by…?” Dean didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Cas had brought his hands up to cradle Dean’s head, and in the process covered Dean’s mouth with his. Cas pushed his fingers through Dean’s spikey hair, his thumbs pressing against Dean’s cheeks. His lips smothered Dean’s, and he opened them slightly so he could taste Dean’s mouth with the edge of his tongue. Cas’ breath came hard and fast now, the need from earlier spilling up through this kiss and overtaking him. He lurched forward making Dean lean back, pinning Dean on his back on the blanket. Dean for his part was so taken by surprise all he could do was go with it, his hands temporarily flailed in the air.

Cas didn’t give himself or Dean a chance to halt this tide he had unleashed. He slung a leg over Dean’s hips, held Dean under him as he forced the kiss deeper. He broke the kiss for a few seconds while he gasped in a breath but then he was on Dean’s mouth again.

Dean finally got hold of his senses and his hands grabbed at Cas’ shoulders. Breathing hard himself, he locked his elbows straight and held Cas away from him. Dean gulped in air, his eyes a little wild from the attack but not showing anything negative in any way, “….Cas?!”

Cas looked down at Dean, his eyes hot and dark. His mouth was languid and his lips flush. “Don’t stop me, please….” His last word came out dripping with such want it made Dean’s stomach tighten.

Dean’s hold weakened and he drew Cas down against him. His fingers combed through the mop of Cas’ dark hair. He held them so their mouths hovered half a beat from each other and he whispered, “I just want you to be sure you want this…”

“I’m sure I want you Dean. You. Just as you are. I want you.” Cas’ voice came out with a rumble, the emotion surging inside him and spilling out into his words.

Dean’s eyes snapped off Cas’ mouth and locked with Cas’ gaze. Where Cas’s eyes were filled with lust, deep radiating love and heady desire, Dean’s were bright with delight, happiness and joy. He lowered Cas the remaining span and sucked in Cas’ mouth to his.

They drank each other in, discovered every contour and curve on their faces with their fingers. They slid hand and arm over their bodies, pressed and tangled their limbs together. They wrested themselves free of their clothing, pulled and tugged and grappled each other into exposure to the mild night air. They slipped their freed skin against each other, warmed and heated themselves with friction and movement. Their lips found purchase on the others throats, shoulders, ribs, navels, hips and thighs. Wet trails from eager kisses poured in crazy circles across each of their surfaces, only to burn deeper patterns underneath. One mouth would explore to uncover a sensitive spot on a nub or a joint or a swath of skin. The other would cry out in choked throaty pleasured sounds until the sweet punishment teasingly stopped. Then the roles would be reversed. They twisted and melted against each other until their minds folded over into ecstatic bubbling colours and their bodies shook with release. They clung to each other until dawn broke over the trees behind them.

Wrapped in the blanket, Dean held Cas’s head curled under his chin. Both held delirious dazed looks in their eyes and giddy wasted smiles on their faces.

“Dean….” Cas whispered hoarsely, “I think I love you.”

“Cas…” Dean chuckled deeply, rocking both their bodies a little, “I know.”

They were both remained silent for a full minute and then together in unison they both said sarcastically, “….Han Solo… that bastard….”

Laughter drifted up from them and into the morning light.


	10. Chapter 10

When the teens finally wandered home, Cas’ Mom briefly admonished them for not calling to tell her they would be so late. But after being met with sheepish blushing replies, she just hugged both of them and sat them down for a huge breakfast. Later she parked them out on the back enclosed porch of the house, one on the divan and the other in a big hammock so they could nap. But when she came back a few minutes later with blankets, she found them both curled together in the hammock fast asleep.

She tucked the blankets around them, left and took Sam to the movies.

The following weeks seemed to pass quickly. It became common knowledge that the sub basement was destroyed completely and it was filled in with dirt. The basement under the stage was wrecked, but salvageable and the school had begun repairs. However it meant the stage was unsafe with the construction and the production had to be moved to a local play production theater instead.

Dean started driving Cas and the girls from school to the new theater for practice and Cas’ Mom took up picking Sam up from school and bringing him to rehearsal. Then she’d wait until they were done and they’d all go home where they would eat dinner together. Dean and Cas began spending so much time at Cas house, Cas’ Mom started assigning them daily chores.

Throughout Dean and Sam’s Dad would call, first leaving messages on the apartment phone recorder, then later calling at Cas’ house once Dean gave him the number. Somehow his current hunt had taken him up into Canada just past the Great Lakes and he didn’t think he would be back down until Christmas. At first he was cross with Dean for taking on a vengeful spirit without him, but then he relented and let the matter drop. He also said he would try to make it there to see the play so he’d be there when Sam performed. Sam was hopeful but Dean kept his opinion hidden.

Meanwhile Dean and Bobby became good friends, and Bobby mentored him in school. Soon Dean’s grades were almost as good as Sam’s.

But it became harder for Dean and Cas to find time alone as the production progressed. They could steal a few moments to kiss or for a hasty make-out session, but nothing like they had the night of Rocky Horror. Cas had rehearsals and Bobby kept Dean busy either building things for the production or gently prodding him on his homework. They would have dinner at Cas’ house, but then Dean and Sam would need to go so Sam could be in bed at a proper hour after he and Dean did homework. For the most part the girls tried to give Dean and Cas time together, except for Michelle who always seemed to find a reason to drag Cas off in the other direction. Dean tried not to let it bother him, after all her reasons were always in Cas’ best interests. Either rehearsal or homework or to fuss over Cas the one time he got a mild cold. But something about her actions really began to bother him on a level he couldn’t quite place.

Cas however had left numerous notes hidden in Dean’s Impala where he knew only Dean would see them. The notes promised going back to the boardwalk after the last dress rehearsal was over, they counted down the days and there was always one word written alone on the corner of the paper. As Dean collected the notes he realized Cas was leaving him another note that would reveal itself when all the notes were finally put together. So far it said, “Thinking of how the moon shone in your eyes that night always makes me….” Dean couldn’t wait for the rest. He kept them in his jean’s pocket and would sneak them out to read whenever he had a break. They always left him with a giddy smile and if Bobby saw, he’d growl and call him an “idjit”.

Finally the waiting was over, and the last rehearsal was scheduled for the Thursday night before the last weekend of school. Right before the Christmas break.

Dean parked the car and Katy, Christine, Anna and Trisha poured out of the backseat. They had been talking a mile a minute in their excitement. Their playful enthusiasm had grown on Dean, but it always seemed like such a stark contrast to Michelle’s seriousness. Today, as usual, she had climbed into the front seat with Cas and kept going over the script with him as they drove. Asking Cas his opinion on what Dickens was trying to say with this imagery or that metaphor. Cas openly seemed to love the discourse he had with Michelle on things like this, so Dean never said anything. Instead he would just shift in his seat, placing his leg against Cas’. Or Dean would drape his arm around Cas’ shoulder, or reach to thumb against the back of Cas’ neck. It always got Cas to flash his dark blue eyes at Dean, supported by a smile. And it always seemed to annoy Michelle a little.

Today Michelle dragged Cas from the car with her insistency on getting into the dressing room on time. But Cas paused a moment and climbed back into the car on his hands and knees. He crawled up and shoved Dean against the driver’s side door, pinning him. He took his time and languidly suckled and kissed Dean’s mouth, Dean responding in kind. Then Cas shifted back and Dean saw a note tucked into the edge of his belt.

“Sneaky devil….” Dean grinned and his face flushed a little. He let his eyes wander over Cas as Cas backed out of the car and he let all manner of lewd thoughts run rampant in his mind.

Cas growled seriously, “Nothing will keep you from me tonight Dean.” And then he turned and left the Impala without shutting the door. This gave Dean an unimpaired view of Cas strutting away across the parking lot. Dean’s grin grew and he bit the edge of his lip a little.

Until Michelle glared at Dean and slammed the car door shut. Then her eyes narrowed and she turned abruptly to run after Cas.

Dean sat alone in his car a moment and then chuckled aloud, “What was that?!” But no answer came and he knew he better get inside before Bobby came out looking for him. He tucked the note into his pocket with the rest without reading it and got out of the Impala.

—————————————————————

Inside the theater; chaos

But it was the usual normal chaos a high school production brings on its final rehearsal night. The night before the show opens to the public.

Someone couldn’t find Jacob Marley’s chains. And the cantilever and pulley mechanism that was supposed to hoist the various Ghosts of Christmas wasn’t working. And someone misplaced Scrooge’s night cap, but oh no there it was at the bottom of one of the costume trunks. Ms Wendell was starting to lose her voice and the Ghost of Christmas Present had somehow lost weight and now his costume didn’t fit quite right.

The stage was set for the first scene of the first act. The stage was split in half to show the interior and street exterior of Scrooge and Marley’s firm. The interior had Bob Cratchit’s meager desk, and Scrooge’s with a forlorn looking stove heater nearby. The exterior was a partial street scene. The building walls which made up the set were designed to swivel around to create other interiors for later scenes.

The moment Dean walked in Bobby started barking about how they needed to fix that mechanism immediately. Bobby shoved a small walkie-talkie into Dean’s hands and pointed to a metal ladder installed in the back wall of the stage behind the backdrops.

Dean easily and quickly climbed up the metal ladder and was soon up on the catwalk high above the stage. He walked to the center of the catwalk and found the end of the hoist. It was out in front of him over the stage about four or five feet away. The wire used to lift the actors was bunch up in the top of the pulley and sticking out awkwardly.

Bobby’s voice crackled over the walkie-talkie, “Well?!”

“Hold on, I think we just have some of the wire unseated from the unit. Let me lean out and pull it over for a better look.” Dean spoke into the walkie-talkie and then clipped it to his belt. He looked around and found a four foot long pole with a small rounded metal hook on the end. It was sitting in little cradles along the cat walk rail. He lifted it up and swung it around, then extended it out to hook the hoisting mechanism to draw it closer.

Just before he could make contact with the mechanism, two things caught his attention. First, from his vantage point he could see Michelle standing just off to stage left slightly hidden by the curtain’s bulk. She was bent over slightly, as if she had something precious cupped in her hands and held close to her heart. Or as if she was in pain. Her face was hidden by her hair. Secondly, Cas came out on stage. He wasn’t yet in costume or make-up. He was barefoot and wearing his usual trousers, tripled cuffed to ride up over his ankles but from the waist up he was bare. Dean smiled slyly as he looked over the contours of Cas’ bare back and he could feel his pulse pick up a little. Tonight would not come soon enough for Dean.

Cas was gesturing to Ms Wendell to get her attention and that’s when the icy prickle began to crawl up the back of Dean’s neck. Dean exhaled and his breath came out as a small cloud on his lips. “No….”

Dean grappled the pole and brought it closer in to him. His eyes snapped left and right, wide with the sudden jolt of adrenaline rushing through his body. He felt the surface of the metal pole, but it felt too light to be iron. He lowered himself into a half crouch and scanned the curtain rigging.

A dark shape flashed past in Dean’s peripheral vision to his left, and then to his right. His mind raced and his mouth went dry. He kept trying to make sense of how this was happening again and here so far from the school.

Now he could hear someone chanting as it echoed up from below and he peered down to the stage to hone in on its source. The stage was flooded in a strange light that made everything appear washed out and void of color. Ms Wendell was collapsed in the front row of the seats and other students were fleeing to the back of the theater to escape. Bobby was stumbling back in slow motion with his hands covering his ears.

Cas turned, looking above him to the curtain rigging. He saw Dean and then focused on something behind Dean. Cas eyes became wide with horror and his face drained completely of any remaining colour. He seemed as if he was shouting something to Dean but no sound came out of his mouth.

Dean began to turn around to see what Cas was looking at but didn’t need to go far. The smoky dark shadow was writhing and boiling only inches from Dean’s side. It seethed and began to stretch around Dean, as if to envelope him. Dean hitched backwards and held the pole defensively between them.

“Come on you oily bastard… come and get some!” Dean growled, but in his head he continued to think, “Take me and stay away from Cas!”

The chanting became louder, its sound a mix of what seemed like two voices. One male, one female. Dean instinctively braced himself but then was abruptly buffeted by the force of the smoky shadow pushing past him.

And rushing downwards at Cas.

Dean nearly lost his balance to tumble between the rails of the catwalk as he threw out a hand to grasp at the tendrils of the smoky shadow. It slipped through his fingers like oil and left his skin stinging with cold. He caught himself against the rail and the pole whipped against the catwalk nearly tearing free of his hand. He didn’t notice. All he could see was the writhing shape stabbing down, aiming for Cas. It surged and covering Cas’ body in one lunge. It twisted, buckled inward and then gave a violent shudder. Dean could hear Cas making loud gagging sounds now. Dean screamed and someone else screamed, and Dean was suddenly frantically searching for a way down.

Dean let the pole drop to the stage but the clatter it should have made sounded muffled and distant. He launched himself along the catwalk, pounding his feet into its metal as he ran. He got to the metal ladder and braced his feet on the outer edges and then slid down to the stage. By the time he had turned and sprinted to Cas’ side, the wriggling smoke was sliding into Cas’ open gaping mouth. Cas jerked and jolted as it poured itself down his throat. Dean reached to grab Cas and some force slapped him away. Dean went sliding off stage right and stopped in a tangled sprawl.

Dean twisted and jumped up just as Cas body began to roll up to stand. Dean covered half the distance between them again when suddenly Cas’ eyes snapped open stopping Dean in his tracks.

Cas eyes were as black as the abyss and as cold as the dead of winter.

“Hello Dean.”


	11. Chapter 11

It grinned.

It grinned and it rolled its shoulders as if it was getting a feel for settling into muscles. New bones. New sinews. Cas who was not Cas stretched his neck like fighters do before they slid into a boxing ring. Then it stretched Cas’ arms and hands out in front of itself, flexing the fingers.

“NOOOO!!” Dean went to scream but the sounds came out as a horrified gasp from another mouth. Michelle’s mouth.

She stumbled out onto the stage with her hands clutched desperately to her chest. Her eyes were red rimmed and furious as she looked at Cas who was not Cas. “You asshole!!!” she screamed petulantly, “This wasn’t our bargain!!”

Cas, or the thing inside Cas, turned Cas’ body slightly to look over at her as she came up behind him. A low bubbling amused laugh rounded out of Cas’ lips as his shoulders shook lightly. It approximated a laugh, but it was nothing like Cas’ laugh. It was a hollow perversion of mirth laced with an insidious cruel edge. “Oh please Michelle. Stop being so naïve.” The words rolled off Cas’ tongue elongating the ‘o’ sounds. It was Cas voice mixed with something else. Something icier. Something that sounded like stone being ground against shards of glass.

Dean’s eyes darted back and forth between the two. He instinctively bent his knees a bit and shifted his center of gravity like he did when he knew he was in for a fight. His hands felt so empty and he was wishing he had the pole in his grip again. Or better yet, his shotgun.

The thing inside Cas took Cas’ hands and began to run them languidly over Cas’ chest and stomach. “This is going to work out so much better Darling. You wanted Castiel Novak. Now you shall have him. Him and me, together as one. Dean doesn’t matter now.” The black eyes flashed back over at Dean and the grinned tightened into a menacing grimace, “I can still kill him though.”

Michelle drew alongside the thing wearing Cas and relaxed her hands a little. Cupped inside were bits of bone fragments covered in bronze metal. She moved to place her face to look closer at Cas, at the thing inside Cas and the black eyes.

It turned in a snake like manner to face her. ”No? You were so upset at Dean taking Cas from you. Punish him. I want to. I want to taste his blood.” It moved Cas close against her and brought Cas’ hands up to cup her face. It drew her closer and breathed in. It rolled Cas’ head slightly as if it were intoxicated by her physical closeness. “I will give you everything my Michelle. My liberator. My love. You will have Cas’ body and his talent. You will have my desire and devotion….”

Dean felt the bile rising from his stomach into his chest. As the thing inside Cas brought Michelle into an embrace and kissed her, Dean couldn’t breathe. He knew it wasn’t Cas, he knew this. But the pain of seeing Castiel kiss someone else stunned him. His mind was filled with the idea that Cas was gone, this thing had subsumed him, removed him. “Cas is gone…. Cas is gone…” echoed in Dean’s head. A sharp pain branched out from Dean’s chest and shoulders. It wormed like a disease invading his whole body. It felt like a thousand barbed hooks were pulling his muscles away, shredding them out from under his skin. The pain seated deeper, and it made Dean go wooden. His mind stopped and he could only stand there. This was not any spell or curse controlled by this awful thing that had taken Cas. It was simply Dean’s heart breaking.

The thing inside Cas broke the kiss, and still holding Michelle against Cas’ body turned to look at Dean. The toothy threatening smile had returned and it chortled, “Oh look, we bwoke his widdle heart…..”

“Yea, well I’mma break this over your ass now, so we’re even!!” Bobby seemed to come from nowhere, wielding the pole Dean held earlier. Bobby swung it in a wide sweeping arc around his head and it whipped around to connect hard against Cas’ back and shoulders. It slammed with such force against Cas’ body it ejected Michelle from his embrace and shoved her hard to the floor.

The bone fragments were knocked free of Michelle’s hands and they went scattering across the stage towards Dean. One skid to snap loudly on the toe of Dean’s boot with a metallic tang. Horrified, Michelle tried to reach out and grab hold of one of the fragments closest to her but she never got the chance.

Instead there was a roar from the thing that was inside Cas and a shock wave peeled out away from Cas’ body. It knocked Dean and Bobby off their feet, and pushed Michelle hard across the stage back against the set behind her.

The thing inside Cas was booming with this awful cackling sound. “PERFECT!” It howled, its own voice more prominent now than Cas’. Cas’ skin began to grey and the visible veins in his arm went ashen. The flesh of Cas’ mouth took on a deathly pallor and the skin on his hands and feet blackened.

Michelle cried out, “Without the bones I can’t control him!!”

Dean rolled up to sit on his hip. He threw Michelle an angry look and then looked to see Bobby trying to stand again, the pole still in his hands.

“Oh no no no….”The thing inside Cas wagged Cas’ finger at Bobby, and then made a faint flicking gesture. It sent Bobby with the pole in his hands flying off the stage to crash hard into the middle seats out in the theater. Bobby’s body sagged and then fell to the floor unmoving.

“My dove…” The thing inside Cas snapped around to skewer Michelle with its hard black glare, “We both know this never would have worked. And now that I’m free of your control…”It raised Cas’ left hand, and as it did Michelle’s body was dragged like a rag doll up to hover in the air.

“No, please… no…. I freed you! I helped you! You love me!” Michelle begged, her voice cracked slightly. “YOU STILL NEED Mhergurk….” Her head suddenly flopped to her left, her neck snapped clean through. The thing inside Cas waved the body away. It went tumbling limp and lifeless off stage.

“Love. Please…..” It snorted.

Then it turned to Dean. A slow burning smile began to bleed across Cas’ face as the thing took one careful step in Dean’s direction. “At last! Alone.”

Dean was on his feet now, his stance planted firmly on the stage surface. He wasn’t going to run, and the calm resignation on his face showed that. In fact Dean’s eyes burned with determination and fury. He squared off his shoulders, brought his chin up and balled his hands into loose fists.

“So adorable when your nostrils flare.” It mocked a kiss in Dean’s direction with Cas’ lips. “What did Castiel tell you earlier? ‘Nothing will keep you from me tonight Dean’….” The thing inside Cas sidled up close to Dean’s right, an obscene grin seared on Cas’ mouth, “And nothing will. This is so much better don’t you think? I do love the way this boy’s body responds to you so much more than that trollop. And the way he squirms inside this head when I just look at you!! It’s worth the price of admission.” The thing flickered Cas’ tongue out at Dean and the black eyes went wider. “Imagine the fun we’ll have waiting for your dear Daddy to come and rescue you and sweet Sammy….only to meet my Boss and I….which will happen I assure you….and ooooooh all the scrumptious things I will do to your body with this body in the meantime….” It quivered in a mock pantomime of sexual undulation and ran one of Cas’ fingers down Dean’s chest to hook on the front waist band of Dean’s jeans. “I can’t wait to listen to Castiel emptying his soul screaming…. trapped in here to watch helplessly as I enjoy making you writhe.”

Dean closed his eyes with a grimace. One single tear left its trail down his left cheek, hidden in the shadows away from the thing’s sight.

Now his heart was breaking for Cas.


	12. Chapter 12

“….Son of a bitch….” Dean clenched his teeth but opened his eyes. He swung his head around to face Cas, who wasn’t Cas.

The lewd grin it flowered on Cas’ face came close to Dean. It placed Cas right shoulder against Dean’s right shoulder, and brazenly ran Cas right hand down against Dean’s crotch. It was making this creepy burbling throaty sound which caused Cas body to shake slightly.

Dean bared his teeth and leaned close as if he would bite Cas’ nose. He locked his look with those black insect like eyes sitting inside Cas and barked in a hard whisper, “I am going to get you out of Castiel if I have to reach down his throat and pull you out by your ass….”

“Mmhhhmmnnnn!” The thing inside Cas grabbed the back of Dean’s head with Cas’ left hand and yanked, “Let’s see you try hot stuff….” In one motion it slammed Dean backwards using Cas shoulder to shove, the hand on Dean’s crotch moving to shove down Dean’s left hip. It moved with the downward shove but brought Cas’ right knee up while the left went down. Effectively pinning the small of Dean’s back against Cas’ right knee while stretching Dean in an arc that left his view upside down. The move knocked the air out of Dean’s lungs and he was suddenly hyper aware that the thing could have broken his back this way. Its grip on the back of Dean’s head intensified, while it made Cas’ right hand roam across Dean’s chest and stomach. Slowly it began to tear Dean’s t-shirt off of him. The hard black eyes coursed over Dean’s skin and burned with malice. At this angle Dean’s leverage was gone, and the thing was five times stronger than anything Dean had ever matched before.

“What first? A nice deep bloody wound? Nothing that would bleed out of course. No no. I need you to last a few days at least…..” It bent Cas over Dean and ran Cas’ mouth in a drooling slow lick against Dean’s bottom rib. Then it pricked at Dean’s skin with Cas’ teeth leaving tiny red marks.

The blood was rushing into Dean’s head now and he was starting to lose control of his breathing. Carefully, with painful slowness he began to slide his left foot closer under himself. He let his left arm drop and he firmed up his fingers against the surface of the stage.

That’s when the thing bit him hard with Cas’ teeth, latching onto the skin on his stomach and pulling. It ripped and tore a hole into Dean’s skin, and Dean let out a sharp anguished cry of pain. It began to lap and slurp at the blood oozing out, making obscene noises in Cas throat as it went. The wound stung hard and the pain hit Dean making him nauseous.

Dean pushed past it and began to bring his other leg under him. That’s when he saw a lithe hand dart from under the backdrop curtain and grab one of the bones Michelle had been holding. Another small hand stole another bone from around the edge of one of the set walls. Dean squinted and grimaced trying to get his head to stop pounding and to focus more. Was he hallucinating now?

Using Cas’ teeth again, the thing nibbled at the exposed muscle tissue on Dean’s exposed stomach. Then, with Cas’ mouth and chin dripping in Dean’s blood, it suckled a long trail up to Dean’s throat. It brought Dean’s head up as it moved Cas’ mouth against Dean’s jaw. It paused and hovered over Dean’s mouth as if it would kiss him, “You should hear how Cas weeps and wails deep inside this head. It’s the sweetest sound…. I want you to make that sound too Dean, I want it in stereo….” The thing latched Cas’ mouth against Dean’s. They began to struggle as it tried to bite open Dean’s mouth, tried to shove Cas tongue and wedge Dean open. Dean planted his feet solidly under himself and tried to use the leverage to push them over but the thing inside Cas held them firmly right where they were. Dean began to give off muffled cries when Cas teeth latched hard onto the meat of Dean’s tongue. It bit down….pulled… and Dean’s only thought suddenly was that it was going to rip his tongue right out of his mouth.

And then abruptly it wasn’t. It let go of Dean and snapped Cas’ head to look up. Dean pulled on the thing’s grip on his head enough to look in the same direction, straining to see.

“Exorcizamus te…. omnis immundus spiritus….” Sam was standing there with a large old book in his hands. Christina, Katy and Trish stood beside Sam. Anna was behind Sam, her hands resting gently on Sam’s shoulders. Katy and Trish had tears coursing down their cheeks as they openly cried, but they never wavered in their gaze and kept their eyes on Dean. Anna kept her eyes on Sam, but Christina’s sole focus was on Cas and the thing inside Cas. In her hands she clenched the bronze coated bones. She held them tight and held her head like a warrior going into battle.

The thing inside Cas hissed, spraying blood and gore down the front of Cas and Dean. Christina answered by taking one defiant step toward them.

“YEILD!” She commanded. Her eyes were filled with determination and hot fury.

Sam’s voice called out clear on the stage as he continued to read from the book. “Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii…”

A violent jerk from the thing inside Cas shook Dean free and he rolled out of Cas’ grasp. Dean half stumbled and half crawled, but didn’t go far.

Sam continued reading from the book, “Omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica…”

Cas body was convulsing now, trembling and flailing as he tipped over on his side. He was making sounds like someone dry heaving and choking. Soon the oily shadow smoke was pooling out of Cas mouth and dribbling down his lips and chin.

“…Ergo, draco maledicte et omnis legio diabolica…” Sam kept it up, taking his time to give each word its correct pronunciation.

Cas body was limp and still now. The mass of smoky shadow sifted out of Cas entirely. It twisted and knotted into strange shivering column. It gave off a faint crunching growling sound but it did not move from its spot. Christina didn’t move. Her hands gripped the bones so tightly her knuckles shone white.

Hesitantly Trish and Katy came out, carefully stepping to give a wide berth to the plume of smoke. Katy gently came over to help Dean stand, while Trish hurried to pull Cas’ body over to where Dean was. Then Trish and Katy ran off stage together.

Sam continued reading slowly and carefully without pause. Christina didn’t move either.

Dean collapsed to sit, pulled Cas to him and cradled Cas in his arms. Tears pooled up in Dean’s eyes as he stroked through the mop of Cas’ hair with shaking fingers. He didn’t look at the thing on the stage, but he looked to Christina, then to Sam and Anna. His mouth trembled, halted words mumbling on his lips. He knew what was happening but he hurt so much, inside and out. He looked back down at Cas. He fumbled to find a pulse, and did, even though it was weak. He brought Cas’ forehead to his lips and kissed him. When he looked up again, Trish and Katy had returned.

Trish held two small metal garbage pails stacked one inside the other. She walked wide around the smoke column again and placed it beside Christina. Katy came to stand at Christina’s elbow. She had a small lighter refill fluid bottle in one hand and a box of matches in the other. Katy poured the fluid into the garbage pail and Dean could hear it hitting paper. Then Katy struck a match and dropped it into the pail as well. It flamed up quickly and sent a few sparks floating into the air.

At this the smoky shadow jerked and twisted, as if it was fighting to flee. Sam called out louder, “Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.”

Christina held one bone over the flames. Her gaze was still hard on the thing, this thing that had destroyed one friend completely and had hurt two other friends badly. People she loved and cared about. She poured all her anger into her eyes as she stared the smoky shadow down. She dropped two of the bones into the fire. The smoky shadow roared and erupted into ethereal bright hot flames. It shook and screamed causing the building to shake. Then Christina dropped the rest of the bones in. The column of shadow burst into its own fire completely, exploding into a thousand bright sparks. It consumed itself with another loud shriek and was gone.

Only then did Christina look away. Her whole body relaxed and she fell into a hug with Katy and Trish. Anna ran over to join them, pulling Sam along.

Dean squeezed his tears out of his eyes, looked down at Cas and passed out.


	13. The End

Dean dreamed.

He was outside some place, in a park. Snow was falling soft all around him. It had already covered everything in ice cream white mounds. The trees around him were dipping heavy with snow laden boughs. He walked and drifted the way one does in dreams. He came to a frozen fountain where the tiny streams of water had formed a small ice cathedral, with glimmering buttresses and arches. Standing beside the fountain was Cas, but his back was to him. Dean called out Cas’ name but no sound came from him mouth. He moved to stand next to Cas and touched him. Cas turned and smiled the way someone does when they suddenly found something important they thought they had lost.

Around them the snow and ice melted down, whirling and trickling into small streams. It sluiced and washed away, then ebbed up, then pulled back and became the edge of the ocean. A beach stretched away from them and the water glimmered.

Cas began to pull off Dean’s jacket and when he was free of it, it vanished from Cas’ hand. Cas then removed his own coat followed by his shirt, and then he reached to pull Dean’s shirt off.

But something hurt on Dean’s stomach and Dean looked down. A bright red spot of blood began to bloom and grow across his abdomen. He looked up quickly and Cas was gone. He twisted and looked around; calling out but again his voice wasn’t there.

“Dean….”came a low strong voice, “Dean wake up….”

Dean could feel warm dry hands on his shoulder and the light from the beach muted into the lights of a hospital room. Dean blinked again and slowly focused. His Dad was standing at his bedside, one firm hand gently at his shoulder. There was no one else in the room.

Suddenly Dean’s heart dropped. Had he been in the hospital this whole time? Had it all been a dream? Everything? Where was Sam? Where was Cas? A deep place in his chest pinched up, but his head was too groggy to make sense of anything.

“You lost a lot of blood. Tore the skin right off your stomach, and then tore a hole in the muscle tissue. You’ve been out for a few days.” John Winchester pulled a chair closer to the bed. “I thought you were going to pull open your stitches just now.”

“Where’s….” Dean looked around the room. It was decorated for Christmas with lights framing the window and a tiny fake tree by the bed, “Where’s…Sam?”

“He walked down to the cafeteria for some cocoa. He’ll be right back.” John smiled and looked at Dean as if he was waiting for something.

Dean pulled the covers and sheet off and away from his chest, and looked down to inspect the bandages. Small nicks dotted around his bottom rib but he couldn’t tell how they were made. He remembered Cas’ teeth, Cas who wasn’t Cas. But was that memory true?

“You’ll be discharged today if you can promise to keep those stitches intact.”John started to smile and then made himself stop. It was as if there was something amusing him but he wouldn’t let the joke out.

Dean frowned and reached a finger up to touch where his lips felt sore. Then he pulled the covers over himself again.

The door cracked open and Sam pushed in carrying a small tray with three Styrofoam cups on it. He smiled big when he saw Dean awake, and brought the tray over to John. John took the tray, handed Sam a cup, handed Dean a cup and then took one for himself.

“Happy Holidays” John raised his cup and then took a sip. He and Sam exchanged glances and Sam’s eyes crinkled with mirth as he drank. Dean didn’t notice. He looked down into his cocoa. He sniffed it and then took a sip. It wasn’t that good.

All he could think about was Castiel.

—————————————————

John and Sam took him home from the hospital back to the apartment they had been staying in. Dean said nothing the entire time and once inside, just went into his room and shut his door. He eased his way over to sit at the sparse desk there, and he began to go through his school papers. He found notes on some of his homework from Bobby and found papers with diagrams about the set designs on them. But nothing that showed Castiel was part of his life. His heart sunk further into his chest. After a while Dean stood and went to his bed. He carefully lay down and stretched out. Sitting had made the wound on his stomach irritable. He looked up and saw someone had strung mistletoe across the top of his window. He let a little whimper cross his lips and he frowned softly.

He was about to close his eyes and get some rest when he began to hear music coming up from outside his window. Dean got up, careful not to strain his stitches. He pulled the curtain back and looked out.

(http://youtu.be/Uh6C3WE9DdY)

Below him on the sidewalk beneath his window Castiel Novak was dancing. He was wearing the same outfit Dean had first seen him in, hat haloing his head just as before. When he turned, his coat billowed out around his body. Beside him on the side walk was a large boombox playing the music. Cas continued to dance, bouncing and moving his feet in time with the music but never looking up. He held his hands in his pockets and the edges of his scarf floated around him as he moved.

Dean just smiled. If this was a hallucination he never wanted it to end. It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Cas kept dancing.

The music stopped and Castiel stopped. He slowly turned to look up at to Dean. A playful smile grew over his face and he winked. Then he walked to the wall below Dean’s window and started to climb up, using whatever he could find to grasp. He didn’t have to go far since Dean was only on the second floor. Dean hastily opened the latch and slid the window open.

The music below them started again. Cas glanced down as he paused just below Dean’s window. Dean looked out to see Sam dancing on the side walk with Christina, Katy, Anna and Trisha. They picked up the boombox and started dancing down the sidewalk, then turned toward the front of the building and vanished from sight. Cas pulled up, and swung his legs in. He sat on the edge of the sill and looked at Dean.

Dean had his hand putting pressure against his stitches. He stood there, half turned and half facing Cas with an odd look on his face. He hesitantly reached over and touched Cas’ shoulder.

“So we told the authorities that Michelle lost her mind… which she kinda did… beat up Mr. Singer with that pole, bit you and then jumped off the catwalk and killed herself. Turns out she had a history of mental illness her family kept secret. The investigation is still pending.” Cas leaned a little and brushed his cheek against Dean’s hand as it rested on his shoulder. “Mr. Singer is still in the hospital. Broke three ribs. Your Dad showed up barely ten minutes after it all was over. Go figure. Thank god my Mom was out in her car reading or….” Cas looked right into Dean’s eyes and held his gaze there waiting to see Dean’s reaction to it all.

“Where did Sam get that book?” Dean’s brows knit together slightly.

“It was Michelle’s….” Cas eyes drained of their depth and looked sad, “Or rather, Zachariah’s and then Michelle found it. She was the one who remade the summoning circle. Only instead of Zachariah’s ghost she got the thing he originally summoned, the thing that took his life. When the sub basement burned, it didn’t burn the bones of the thing. It coated them in the bronze plaque. Your Dad said it created a cursed object… the bones. Which was how Michelle thought she could continue to control it I guess….”

Dean was quiet for a long moment. He swallowed and took a step closer, “I’m sorry you lost Michelle.”

Cas dropped his eyes down and looked at the floor. “Me too. I think everyone is still in a little shock you know?” He paused, “We cancelled the play. It didn’t seem right to continue with it.”

Dean moved to stand in front of Cas, and nudged his feet in between Cas’s. He drew his hand off Cas’ shoulder and brought it up to cup against Cas’ jaw. He pulled Cas’ gaze back to his eyes as he stroked the pad of his thumb against Cas’ skin. They said nothing and just remained there, falling into each other’s eyes. Cas deep blue irises darkened and he held his breath. Dean just let himself get lost in Cas’ eyes, his own wide and swimming with emotion.

“I think these are yours….” Cas said, but his voice came out hushed. He pulled a small stack of notes from his pocket. The notes he had been leaving Dean in the Impala. The notes Dean had kept in his pocket.

Dean took them and began to read them aloud in a quiet voice. He would nudge Cas occasionally with his knee or the toe of his boot. The final message, the secret one that you needed all the notes to complete it read, “Thinking of how the moon shone in your eyes that night always makes me shivering with antici-“ but it cut off there.

Dean gave a small frown and looked at Cas questioningly.

“…makes me shiver with antici…”Cas licked his lips, “…pation!”

Dean chuckled at the Rocky Horror Picture Show reference and then gripped at his stomach a little.

A deeply worried look filled up Cas’ face and his smile waned, “I should go, I don’t want you to pull those stitches…”

“Shut up Cas.”Dean glanced up at the mistletoe once, and then bent lower and covered Cas’ mouth with his own. He kissed him with aching slowness. He savored each movement, each press of the lips, and each gentle pass of their tongues. They stayed like that, just heady with the sensation of the kiss and in no hurry to end it or change it.

After a time Dean paused and pressed his forehead against Castiel’s, “I love you Cas. When I thought I had lost you… that you weren’t part of my life anymore… part of me anymore…. I couldn’t…” Cas cut him off with another kiss. He pulled Dean into a deep embrace, and Dean responded in kind by wrapping Cas against him.

“Merry Christmas Dean.”

“Merry Christmas Cas…”


	14. Epilogue

February, 2012

“Cas?! ……..CAS!” Dean voice rang out from the large walk in closet, “I can’t… I can’t find…”

“These?” Cas stood leaning in the doorway, a set of cufflinks resting in his palm.

“Yes, oh god yes.”Dean came to him and scooped up the cufflinks.

Castiel was already fully dressed in his tuxedo. It was designed by Dolce and Gabbana and the jacket was made of smooth black velvet with ribbon piping along the lapels and the pockets. It fit him fantastically and he looked dapper with his bowtie. His hair was still a wild mop of darkness, but it was shorter now. Dean was half way dressed; wearing a Prada tux that Cas had gotten for him. The cut accentuated Dean’s broad shoulders beautifully. His honey coloured hair was cut into a tidy short trim style.

“I don’t know why you’re nervous. I’m the one nominated tonight.” Cas smiled gently as Dean fussed with the cufflinks, but then Cas had to take over for Dean when he dropped one.

“I know… I know! It’s your big night. I just…. Do I have to walk the red carpet with you?” Dean looked pained.

“It’ll be fun. We’ll have some champagne in the car.” Cas finished with the cufflinks and adjusted the silk necktie Dean had on. Then Cas nailed Dean with stern look. “It’ll be fine. I know you aren’t used to being so exposed like this. But you gave up the hunting front lines a while ago. The police aren’t after you.”

Dean took a long deep breath. Cas was right. As he had gotten older, he had stopped going out on jobs and fell back into a supportive role for other hunters. Now he and Cas lived in Pasadena where they both based themselves for both their work. Only Cas had stuck with acting, and tonight his lead role in the movie adaptation for the musical he had already won a Tony award for was up for an Oscar.

Dean slipped on his tuxedo jacket and buttoned it. They both paused and looked at each other a long moment, happy contented smiles on their faces.

“So proud of you Cas.” Dean leaned in and kissed him. “I love you.”

Cas smiled roguishly and then after a beat said, “I know.”

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Supernatural and its original characters and themes are the property of Supernatural and The CW Network.


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